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Wm 


■■hb 


SSSSjuSirsf  ‘iiQ’  uy 


THE  GENERALIFFE. 


THE 


Alhambra  and  the  Kremlin. 


THE  SOUTH  AND  THE  NORTH 
OF  EUROPE. 


SAMUEL  IRENAJUS  PRIME, 

AUTHOR  OF  “ TRAVELS  IN  EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST.” 


NEW  YORK: 


ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  & COMPANY. 

770  Broadway. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  by 
ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  AND  COMPANY, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


$)r£ss  of 

JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON, 

Cambridge. 


j&inbtrg  of 

ROBERT  RUTTER, 

82  and  84  Beekman  St., 
New  Voric. 


TO 

MRS.  E’LOUISA  L.  PRIME 

THIS  VOLUME 


IS  AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED. 


The  South  and  the  North  of  Europe  are 
contrasted  in  this  volume.  Not  by  any 
formal  comparison  of  the  morals  and 
manners,  the  institutions  and  condition 
of  the  peoples  in  different  latitudes,  but 
by  candid  statement  and  description,  I 
have  sought  to  give  a fair  view  of  life  as  it  is  in  Spain 
and  Scandinavia. 

Since  the  journey  was  made,  the  Queen  of  Spain  has 
fled,  and  the  Emperor  of  France  has  perished  from 
among  men.  But  the  social  life  of  the  nations  remains 
the  same  from  a^e  to  as:e. 

O O 


PREFACE. 


viii 

The  Alhambra  is  a type  of  the  South.  The  Kremlin 
is  a symbol  of  the  North.  Both  of  them  are  fortresses 
enclosing  palaces:  the  glory  of  Spain  in  ruins,  the  pride 
of  the  North  in  its  strength  and  beauty. 

Vague  and  indefinite  ideas  of  these  wonderful  edifices, 
and  of  the  countries  they  represent,  have  been  enter- 
tained by  many,  who  may  find  in  these  pages  pictures 
of  things  as  they  are,  which  the  writer  trusts  are  faithful 
and  portable. 


The  Generaliffe  Frontispiece. 

Bridge,  Gateway,  and  Cathedral  of  Burgos 16 

The  Cid { 17 

The  Escorial 22 

The  Royal  Palace,  Madrid 40 

Toledo 54 

The  Alcazar 59 

Cordova 82 

Court  of  Oranges,  Cordova ^ . 87 

The  Great  Mosque,  Cordova 89 

“ La  Geralda,”  Seville 93 

She  wept  and  told  her  Beads 96 

The  Bull-Fight 10 1 

The  Picador 106 

In  the  Alameda,  at  Malaga 118 

The  Diligence 125 

Outer  Wall  of  the  Alhambra 130 

Portion  of  a Door 138 

The  Vermilion  Tower [42 

The  Alhambra 156 

Geneva  and  the  Rhone 166 

Merle  d’Aubigne 167 

D’Aubignd’s  Birthplace  and  Residence 169 

Lausanne,  and  the  Lake  of  Geneva *7r 


X 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGH 

Castle  of  Chillon 173 

The  Lake  and  City  of  Geneva 175 

Cathedral  and  Platform  at  Berne 182 

On  the  Lake  of  Thun 184 

Pilatus,  Lake  of  Lucerne 190 

Monument  to  the  Swiss  Guard.  {By  Thorvaldsen) 195 

Tell’s  Chapel,  Lake  of  Lucerne 198 

Swiss  Horn  Blowers 21 1 

Peasants  of  Eastern  Switzerland 212 

Female  Costumes  in  Appenzell 217 

Death  of  the  Chamois 231 

On  the  Rhine 241 

Aix-la-Chapelle 245 

Frankfort  Dining-Table 269 

Polish  Peasants 283 

Scene  at  Railway  Station 294 

A Rainy  Day  in  a Russian  City 309 

Street  Scene  in  a Russian  City 315 

A Russian  Porter 321 

The  Kremlin 33 1 

Plan  of  the  Centre  of  Moskva  City 335 

The  Russo-Greek  Service 342 

Helsingfors 383 

Stockholm  Steamers  396 

Upsala 413 

Costumes  of  Sweden 421 

Roxen  Locks 435 

Travelling  in  Carioles  in  Norway 457 

Palace  of  Frederiksberg 462 

A Domestic  Scene  in  Denmark 469 

Fagade  of  the  Thorvaldsen  Museum,  Copenhagen 471 

Portrait  of  Thorvaldsen.  {By  Horace  Vernet)  ....  ...  473 

Hamburg 480 

Home  Again 482 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GRANADA. 

Page 

Lodgings  at  the  Alhambra. — Restoration.  — Webs  of  False- 
hood.— The  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains.  — Fruits.  — Progress 
of  the  Peasantry.  — The  Moors.  — Adam’s  Visit  to  Spain. — 
Expulsion  of  the  Moors.  — Decline  of  the  Empire.  — Rail- 
roads. — Mines.  — Early  Settlers.  — Iberians.  — Phoenicians.  — 
Goths.  — Moors.  — Waning  of  the  Crescent.  — Capture  of 
Cordova. — Flight  of  the  last  Moorish  King i 

CHAPTER  II. 

OUT  OF  FRANCE  INTO  SPAIN,  — THE  BASQUE  PROVINCES. 

Biarritz.  — Chateau  Eugenie.  — Dangerous  Coast.  — Breakwater. 

— The  Virgin’s  Partiality.  — Bathing  Grounds.  — Couriers. — 
Antanazio.  — His  Honesty  and  Zeal.  — Crossing  the  Boun- 
dary. — Island  of  Conference.  — Spanish  Courtesy.  — The 
Basque  Provinces.  — Peculiar  Customs.  — Ancestry.  — The 
Language. — Spanish  Stupidity. — La  Fayette.  — St.  Sebas- 
tian.— Duke  of  Wellington’s  Sack  of  the  City.  — Bull-ring. 

— Likeness  of  the  Country  to  Switzerland.  — Physique  of 
the  Inhabitants.  — Productions.  — Industries.  — Primogen- 
iture. — Tolasa.  — Vittoria.  — Wellington’s  Victory.  — Mi- 
randa.— Roderick,  the  last  King  of  the  Goths 6 

CHAPTER  III. 

BURGOS.  — THE  ESCORIAL. 

A sleepy  Town.  — Origin  of  the  Name.  — Fusion  of  the  Crowns 
of  Leon  and  Castile.  — The  Coffer  of  the  Cid.  — Swindling  a 
Jew.  — Moorish  Lies,  — Hotels.  — A Change  of  Base.  — The 
Cathedral.  — Statues.  — Carvings.  — Verdict  of  Charles  V. 
and  Philip  II.  — Devil  beating  the  Railroad. — Carving  by 
Nicodemus.  — Miracles.  — Castle.  — Engineer  hoisted  by  his 
own  Petard.  — Burgos  Taverns. — Philip  II.  His  Character. 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


— Conception  of  a Palace,  Monastery,  and  Tomb. —The 
Escorial.  — Dimensions.  — St.  Lawrence.  — Turning-point  of 
his  Life.  — Description  of  the  Palace.  —Death  of  Philip  II.  — 
Mausoleum.— The  Segrario.  — A toe-tvX  Loss.— Cellini  Cru- 
cifix. — Library  *5 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MADRID.  — A SABBATH  AND  A CARNIVAL. 

A polyglot  Valet.— Missionary  Schools.  — Foreign  Chaplains. 

— The  Church  Militant.  — Upper  Chamber.  — Religious  In- 
tolerance. — Inquisition.  — Persecution.  — Spanish  Sabbath. 

— Devotion.  — Infidelity.  — The  Prado.  — Bull-ring.  — Wine 
Shops.  — Frolicking.  — Dancing.  — Cheap  Wines.  — Carni- 
val. — Costumes.  — Politeness.  — Maskers.  — Ancient  Belle. 

— Hobbling  Monk.  — Pope.  — Natural  Goose.  — Devil.  — 
Orang-outang.  — General  Abandon.  — Religion  and  Folly. 

— Good  Humor 29 

CHAPTER  V. 

MADRID.  — PALACE.  — BANK.  — PICTURE-GALLERY. 

Napoleon’s  Epigram.  — Royal  Palace. — Cavalry. — Military  Pa- 
rade.— Plains  of  Castile. — Armory. — Swords  of  Gonzalo 
de  Cordova,  Ferdinand,  and  Charles  V.  — Armor  of  Boab- 
dil.  — Revolvers. — Mighty  Men  of  War.  — Toledo  Blade. — 
Stables.  — Spanish  Horses.  — Merino  Sheep.  — Royal  Equi- 
page.— Crazy  Jane’s  Carriage.  — Her  Effigy.  — Mischievous 
Display.  — French  Language  and  Influence.  — Slow  Coaches. 

— Cheap  Labor.  — Architecture. — Banking-house. — Bank  of 
Spain.  — Repose  of  Manner. — Gold  at  last.  — Railroads. — 
Post-office.  — Personal  Identity.  — Rebel  General.  — Lost  Let- 
ters. — Telegraphs.  — Progress.  — Picture-gallery.  — The 
Immaculate  Conception.  — Vision  of  St.  Bernard.  — Christ 
sinking  under  his  Cross.  — Equestrian  Portrait  of  Charles  V. 

— Titian.  — Correggio.  — Mary  in  the  Garden.  — Bias  del 
Prado.  — Hidden  Gems.  — Murillo.  — Material  and  Ideal 

Art .w 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TOLEDO.  — ITS  FLEAS,  LANDLORDS,  ANTIQUITIES,  AND  LUNATICS. 

Progress. — Hotel  Lino.  — The  wicked  Flea.  — Easy  Manners. — 
Breakfast. — Model  Landlord  and  Waiters.  — Toledo  Butter. 


CONTENTS. 


Xlll 


— City  set  on  a Hill.  — Monuments  of  departed  Peoples. — 
Romance.  — Architecture.  — Oldest  City  in  the  World.  — 
Mythic  Founders.  — Perfidy  of  Roderick.  — Reign  of  the 
Archbishops.  — Decline  of  Power  and  Glory.  — Cathedral. — 
Descent  of  the  Virgin.  — A fair  Penitent.  — Orthodoxy  of  the 
Priesthood.  — Burning  of  the  Missals.  — The  Muzarabe. — 

The  dead  Lion  better  than  a living  Dog.  — Eloquent  Epitaph. 

— Honors  paid  the  Virgin.  — The  Alcazar. — Derivation  of 
Mango.  — Spanish  Pride.  — Peacocks.  — Foreign  Impres- 
sions.— Moorish  Gates.  — San  Juan  de  los  Reyes.  — Thank- 
offerings. — St.  Florinde. — Cave  of  Hercules.  — Legend  of 
the  Cid.  — Cafe.  — Toledo  Blades.  — Virtues  of  the  Tagus.  — 
Sword  of  Boabdil.  — Lunatic  Asylum.  — Don  Quixote.  — 
Crazy  Editors.  — Statistics. — Causes  of  Insanity. — Spanish 
Slowness  and  Temperance.  — Sophomores 53 

CHAPTER  VII. 

LA  MANCHA. — ANDALUSIA. 

Smoking.  — Cigarettes  at  Dinner.  — Taking  Sanctuary.  — Retort. 

— Tobacco  Culture.  — Cuban  Monopoly.  — Chewing  tabooed. 

— Early  Smoking.  — Children  and  Ladies. — Tobacco  Fac- 
tory. — Cigareras.  — Flavored  Cigars.  — Potash.  — Soda.  — 
Opium.  — Intemperate  Clergyman.  — La  Mancha.  — Don 
Quixote.  — Treeless  Landscape.  — Sheep.  — Corn.  — Primi- 
tive Ploughing.  — Husbandry.  — Primogeniture.  — Lands 
of  Church  and  Crown.  — Agricultural  Schools.  — Period- 
icals. — Sierra  Morena  Mountains.  — Cautious  Engineer. 

— Manzibar.  — Pickled  Chicken. — Moving  on.  — Perfumes 
of  Arabia.  — Resting-place.  — Transatlantic  Indigestion.  — 
Andalusia. — Ignorance  and  Crime. — Government  Educa- 
tion.— Statistics.  — Salamanca.  — Influence  of  Climate. — 
Population. — The  Aloe  and  Olive. — Oranges  and  Lemons. 

— Hills  of  Andalusia. — Sheep '69 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

CORDOVA. 

Cleanliness.  — - Paved  Streets — Bridge  over  the  Guadalquiver. — 

Age  of  the  City. — Wholesale  Butchery.  — Government.— 
Mosques.  — Baths.  — Inns.  — Schools.  — Library.  — Rural 
Fete. — Departed  Glory.  — Palace  of  Abdurhama. — Beauti- 
ful Evergreens.  — Fruits.  — Interior  of  an  Ancient  House. — • 
Moorish  Style.  — Cathedral.  — Converted  Mosque.  — Gate  of 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


Pardon.  — Court-yard.  — Orange  Grove.  — Fountains.  — 
Gold  Fish.  — Elders  in  the  Gate.  — The  Mecca  of  Europe.  — 
Holy  Shrine. — Symbolism.  — Indulgences. — Bronze  Orna- 
ments.— Inscription  in  Gothic  and  Arabic.  — Dimensions. 
— Precious  Stones. — The  Mihrab. — The  Kalif’s  Oratory. — 
Mosaics.  — Devout  Mussulmans.  — Chapels.  — Etching  on 
Stone.  — Impressive  Monuments 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SEVILLE,  ITS  CATHEDRAL  AND  BULL-FIGHTS. 

Delicious  Climate.  — Customs.  — Exile  of  the  Moors.  — Conse- 
quent Decay.  — The  Alcazar.  — Barbaric  Splendor.  — A 
Christian  Kingdom. — Cathedral.  — A House  of  God. — 
Giant  Columns.  — High  Mass.  — Unconscious  Worshipper. 
— Beautiful  Women.  — Venus-worship. — Port  of  Saville. — 
Fruits.  — Don  Juan. — Barber  of  Seville.  — Murillo’s  House. 
— Mosaics — .Moorish  Castle.  — Auto-da-fe.  — The  Qiiema- 
daro. — Field  of  St.  Sebastian. — Circulation  of  the  Bible  — 
Tower  of  Gold.  — Treasure  House. — Prison.  — Bins  of  Gold. 
— Decline  and  Fall  of  Spain.  — Demoralizing  Influences. — 
Corruption  and  Robbery.  — Yellow  Fever.  — Guadalquiver. 
— Amphitheatre. — A Delicate  Lady.  — Warlike  Husband. — 
Her  Description  of  a Bull-fight  — The  Ring.  — Spectators. 
— Trumpet-blast.  — Picadors.  — Entrance  of  the  Bull.  — 
Charge.  — Horseman  — Terrible  Sight.  — Chulos.  — Ban- 
derilleros.  — Squibs.  — Matador.  — Applause. — The  Ladies. 
— Different  Tastes. — Squeamish  Husband 

CHAPTER  X. 

SEVILLE. 

La  Caridad.  — Art  Treasures.  — St.  John.  — Miracle  of  the  Loaves 
and  Fishes. — Moses  striking  the  Rock.  — Recovery  of  Pic- 
tures  at  Waterloo.  — French  Thieves.  — Venus  de  Medici. — 
Thoughtful  Amateur.  — Museum  Fees. — Guardian  Angels 
of  Seville.  — Martyrdom.  — Murillo’s  Pages  of  the  Gospel.  — 
Old  Masters.  — Decay  of  Art.  — Bull-fighting.  — The  Sea- 
son*  — Exaggeration.  — Curious  Development.  — Effect  on 
the  National  Character.  — Street-plays.  — Feats.  — Demoral- 
ization. Spanish  Pride.  — Morality.  — Contrast  between 
the  North  and  South  of  Europe. — Costume  of  Andalu- 
sia.— Fashion.  — Life  of  the  People.—  Price  of  Labor.— 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


Food.  — Climate.  — Beer.  — Wine  cheaper  than  Water.  — 

Sack. — Intemperance. — Physical  Circumstances. — Social  Bur- 
dens.— Beautiful  Trait. — Obedience. — Veneration  of  the  Aged  107 

CHAPTER  XI. 

MALAGA. 

An  ill  Wind  that  blows  no  Good. — Curious  Excuse  for  Crime. — 

Old  World  like  the  New.  — Resort  for  Invalids.  — Genial 
Clime. — Range  of  Thermometer.  — Mineral  Waters.  — Sun- 
shine.— Rainfall.  — Heavenly  Skies.  — Advice  to  Consump- 
tives.— Grapes. — Raisins.  — Wine  and  Oil.  — A Sabbath. — 
Service  at  the  British  Consulate.  — Mrs.  Partington. — Eng- 
lish Chaplain.  — Sermon.  — Narrow  Streets.  — Sweet  Mem- 
ories of  Cologne.  — Picturesque  Moors.  — Cathedral.  — High 
Mass.  — Florid  Architecture. — Fruits. — Prayer  of  a Dying 
Moor.  — Florinde.  — Chronicles  of  Washington  Irving.  — 
Luxuries  of  Travel.  — Diligences.  — Out  of  Malaga.  — Obsti- 
nate Mules.  — Night.  — Mountains.  — Setting  Sun.  — Lovely 
Scenery.  — Orchards.  — Armed  Guards. — Gentlemen  of  the  / 
Road.  — Loja. — Inn.  — Flock  of  Fleas. — A Stimulant. — 
Setting  out  for  Granada.  — Santa  Fe. — Its  History.  — Gra- 
nada at  Last.  — In  the  Grounds  of  the  Alhambra  . . . . 118 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  ALHAMBRA. 

The  Paradise  of  the  West.  — Rivers  of  Eden.  — New  Damascus.  - 
Granada.  — Origin  of  the  Name. — Fruits. — Mountains. — 
Skies.  — Moorish  Empire  broken.  — Zawi  Ibu  Zeyri. — Al- 
hambra. — Meaning  of  the  Name.  — Extension  of  the  Castle. 

— Original  Grandeur.  — Its  first  Prince.  — His  Improve- 
ments. — Roads.  — Colleges.  — Hospitals. — Canals. — Arts.  — 
Sciences.  — Degeneracy.  — Intrigues  and  Murders.  — Ruin. 

— Final  Overthrow  of  Moorish  Power.  — Ferdinand  and 
Isabella.  — Columbus.  — Fleas  and  Cake.  — Blessing  and 
Gold  — New  World  in  the  West.  — Bookstore.  — Irving’s 
Tales.  — Gate  of  Judgment.  — Plateau.  — Desolation.  — Court 
of  Myrtles.  — Court  of  Lions.  — Boabdil.  — Abencerrages.  — 
Treachery.  — Hall  of  Ambassadors.  — Bensaken.  — Walking 
Cyclopedia.  — Prudence.  — Washington  Irving.  — Dolores.  — 
Queen’s  Garden.  — Hall  of  Two  Sisters. — Harem.  — Lin- 
daraka  Gardens.  — Queen’s  Dressing-room.  — Gypsies.  — 
Perfume  Bath.  — Water  Bath.  — Governor’s  Court.  — Bowed 
Slab. — The  Morning  Star  1 


29 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  ALHAMBRA  (contained) . 

The  poor  Cobbler  of  Granada.  — Spanish  Rule  of  Living. — Xan- 
tippe.  — Search  for  Gold.  — Messenger  Dove.  — Dreams.  — 
Landslip.  — Fever  cured.  — Conversion. — The  Watch  Tower. 
Magic  Bell.  — Parapanda  Mountains.  — Reign  of  Law. — Gift 
to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  — Bloody  Pass.  — Vega. — Water 
Gates.  — The  Last  Sigh  of  the  Moor.  — His  Mother’s  Re- 
proof. — Moorish  Race.  — Political  Prisoners.  — Birthplace  of 
Eugenio.  — The  Generalise.  — Ancient  Tree.  — Suspected 
Queen.  — Women  of  Spain.  — Sins  of  Climate 144 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

GRANADA. 

Troubadour  and  Gypsy  Life. — Dwarf. — Horse. — Fair. — Physique 
of  the  Gitanas.  — Habits.  — Habitations.  — Moral  Principle. 
Chastity.  — Swindling.  — Superstition.  — Fortune-tellers. 

— Credulity.  — Trickery.  — Parisian  Spiritualist.  — Gypsy 
Creed.  — Musings.  — Causes  of  Astonishment.  — Paintings 
and  Cathedrals. — Unworthy  Ambition. — Silence  in  Church. 

— Cathedral  of  Granada.  — Chapel  Royal.  — Tomb  of  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella. — Tomb  of  Philip  and  Crazy  Jane. — 
Obliging  Priest.  — Fees.  — Leaving  Granada.  — Disguised 
Thief. — Seizure  and  Imprisonment. — Out  of  Granada  . . 155 

CHAPTER  XV. 

GENEVA.  — FREYBURG.  — BERNE. 

Geneva.  — Color  of  the  Rhone. — Caesar’s  Wall.  — Cathedral. — 
Calvin. — Lady  Jane  Grey. — Rousseau. — Voltaire. — Madame 
de  Stael.  — Byron.  — Jura.  — Mont  Blanc.  — Celebrities.  — 
Coppet. — Ninon.  — St.  Protais.  — Lisus. — Morges. — Grand 
Muveran.  — Diablerets.  — Mont  Rosa.  — Mont  Blanc.  — Lau- 
sanne.— St.  Anne.  — Sacred  Rat.  — Cathedral.  — Convention 
of  Reformers.  — Gibbon.  — Classic  Ground.  — Chillon.  — 
Bonnivard. — Torture  Chamber. — Hotel  Byron. — Railroad. — 

Ice. — Swiss  Valleys.  — Freyburg.  — Suspension  Bridge.  — 
Great  Organ.  — Cathedral.  — Wonderful  Music:  its  Power 
and  Sweetness.  — Berne.  — Morat.  — Burgundian  Custom. — 
Public  Bears. — Unfortunate  Englishman.  — Curious  Clock 
Market  Women.  — Federal  Palace. — Swiss  Cantons.  — Ber- 
nese Alps. — Thun. — Jungfrau 165 


CONTENTS 


XVII 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  BRUNIG  PASS. — LUCERNE. 

Pleasant  Ride.  — Interlaken.  — Lakes  Thun  and  Brienz.  — Abend- 
berg.  — Faulhorn. — Giesback.  — Illumination.  — Ascent  of 
the  Brunig. — Vale  of  Meyringen. — Falls  of  Reichenbach. — 
Lungern.  — Splendid  Courage.  — Cheap  Suffering.  — Modern 
Reformers.  — Mount  Pilatus.  — Myths.  — Lucerne.  — Popula- 
tion. — St.  Leger.  — Service.  — Crucifix.  — A Devotee.  — 
Mass.  — Organ.  — Cloisters.  — Lake  Lucerne.  — Lion  of  Lu- 
cerne.— Dance  of  Death.  — Striking  Scenery. — Gersau. — 
Brunnen.  — Bay  of  Uri.  — Sir  James  Mackintosh.  — Swiss 
Patriots.  — Chapel  of  Tell.  — Cascades.  — Fluellen.  — Altorf. 

Captain  Lott 186 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  BLACK  VIRGIN  OF  EINSIEDELN.  — LIFE  IN  SWITZERLAND,  ETC. 

The  Hermit  Meinrad.  — His  Black  Virgin.  — Murder.  — Detec- 
tive Ravens.  — Monastery.  — Miracle.  — Shrine.  — Pilgrims. 

— Revenue.  — A Barefooted  Penitent.  — Village  Church.  — 
Fountain.  — Gallery.  — Abbot.  — Hospitality.  — Library. — 
College.  — Monastic  Life.  — Adieu.  — Pleasant  Quarters. 

— Meals. — Hotel  Life. — John  Bull. — A Charming  Couple. — 
Americans.  — A National  Feature.  — Slang. — Language. — 
Manners. — An  Elegant  Lady.  — Selfishness.  — French  and 
Swiss  Railroads.  — Improvements.  — Accidents.  — Accommo- 
dations   200 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CANTON  APPENZELL.  — SWISS  CUSTOMS. 

Trogen.  — Convent.  — Memento  mori.  — Scenery.  — Religion. — 
German  Service.  — Curious  Custom.  — Constance.  — Mar- 
tyrs.— Dividing  Line. — Remarkable  Change.  — Cause. — 
Pillory.  — Evening  Bell.  — Watchman’s  Song.  — Bridal  Cus- 
tom. — Athletic  Sports.  — Democracy.  — Assembly.  — Office 
Seekers.  — Council.  — Roads.  — Taxation.  — Schools. — 
Foreign  Pupils.  — Pedestrians.  — Moral  Culture.  — Treatment 
of  Women.  — Cows.  — Farm  Work.  — Manufactures.  — Me- 
chanics. — God’s  Acre  — Graves.  — Funeral  Ceremonies.  — • 
Simplicity. — Lonely  Burial. — Unpleasing  Custom. — Cos- 
tumes.— The  Upper  Classes.  — Refinement  and  Culture. — 

Manners.  — Patriotism.  — A Challenge 

b 


212 


XV111 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GERMAN  WATERING-PLACES.  — BINGEN  ON  THE  RHINE. 

A German  Watering-place.  — Land  of  Salt. — Salt  Works. — 
Last  of  the  Barons.  — Homburg.  — Kursaal.  — Palace.  — 
Gaming.  — Kreusnach.—  Spas. — Salt  Springs. — Cure-house. 
— Kissingen.  — Baths.  — Cures.  — Long  Sledge-ride.  — 
Princess  of  Mecklenburg.  — Clerical  Postman.  — Whey- 
cure.— Grape-cure.  — Rest. — Rheingraffenstein. — Ebernburg. 
— Relics  of  Reformers. — French  Cannon  Balls. — The  Bingen 
of  Poetry.  — The  Real  Bingen.  — Bishop  Hatto’s  Tower. — 
Maiise-thurme.  — Southey. — Ehrenfels. — Rudesheimer  Vine- 
yards.— Wine-making.  — Shallow  Soil. — Johannisberg  Vine- 
yard. — The  Rhine.  — Mayence. — Printing.  — Guttenberg’s 
Statue.  — Cathedral 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CH APELLE. 

Tomb  of  Charlemagne. — The  Dead  Emperor.  — Cathedral. — 
Consecration.  — Holy  Shrine.  — Healing  Waters.  — Palace. 
— Holy  Relics.  — Remarkable  List.  — Septennial  Exhibition. 
— Sultan  of  Turkey. — Crowd.  — Order  and  Devotion. — 
Sultan  and  Suite. — Stolidity.  — Priests  and  Women. — A 
Crush.  — Pageant  opened.  — Procession.  — The  Relics.  — 
Puseyite  Priest. — On  the  Road  to  Rome.  — Superstition. — 
Pictures.  — Virgin’s  Garment.  — Modern  Style.  — Holy  Shirt. 
— Other  Relics.  — Pilgrims.  — Revenue.  — Waters.  — Foun- 
tain. — Music.  — Invalids.  — Kurhaus.  — Social  Ease.  — 
. Baths.  — Sulphur  Water. — -Antiquities.  — Tower  of  Granus. 
— Statue  of  Charlemagne.  — Bust  and  Skull 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

FRANKFORT. 

Graveyard.  — Childish  Plays.  — Cheerful  Graves.  — Grave  of 
Goethe’s  Mother. — Inscription.  — Lovely  Sentiment. — Cof- 
fin of  Goethe.  — Wealthy  Jew.  — Humiliation.  — Ancient 
Glory. — Ariadne.  — Elegant  Cars.  — Smokers.  — Pine  For- 
ests. Women’s  Rights.  — Beer  Drinking. — A Good  Ar- 
rangement. — Frankfort-on-the-Oder.  — Krewz.  — Dinner.— 
Gardens.  Scenery.  — Nakal.  — Bromberg.  — Wedges.  — At- 
tentive Servant.  — Frontier.  — Passports.  — The  Vistula.  — 
Poland.  — Warsaw . . . 


CONTENTS. 


XIX 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

WARSAW. 

Historic  Legend.  — The  Jesuits.  — Partition. — Last  Insurrection. 

— Nationality  crushed  out.  — Attempted  Insurrection. — De- 
feat. — Warsaw.  — Armed  Despotism.  — Discontent.  — Preca- 
rious Prosperity.  — Russian  Rule  and  Language.  — Fate  of  a 
Spy.  — Consequence.  — Russian  Soldiery.  — Ill-manners.  — 
Botanical  Gardens.  — Observatory.  — Palace.  — Sobieski’s 
Monument.  — Grave  Error.  — Illumination.  — Streets.  — 
Drunkenness.  — Climate.  — Lutheran  Church.  — Relics  of 
Romanism.  — Mendicants.  — Jewish  Quarter.  — Hospital.  — 

War  of  Religions.  — Statue  of  the  Virgin.  — Little  Russia.  — 
Funeral.  — English  Cock 273 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

FROM  WARSAW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 

Pretentious  Hotel. — Splendid  Bridge.  — Polite  Ticket-seller. — 

Cars.  — Prairie.  — Wretched  Peasantry.  — Jews.  — Railroad 
Employes.  — Lapj\  — Mother  and  Son.  — Bialystok.  — 
Grodno.  — Diet  of  Poland.  — Last  King  of  Poland. — Jewish 
Holiday.  — Lithuania.  — Plains.  — Napoleon’s  Hill.  — Monu- 
ment.— Wilna.  — Ruins.  — Insurrection.  — Babel.  — Duna- 
berg.  — Captive.  — Short  Night.  — Serfs.  — Reform.  — Board 
of  Arbitrators.  — Emancipation.  — Pskof.  — Lady  Smoker.  — 

St.  Petersburg 284 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ST.  PETERSBURG. 

Searching  Process.  — Peculiar  Costumes.  — Rough  Streets. — 
Russian  Bath.  — Dinner. — Model  Guide  — Elegant  Diction. 

— Peter  the  Great.  — Catharine  I. — Striking  Contrasts. — 
Accommodating  Weather.  — Palace  of  the  Emperor.  — Col- 
umn of  Alexander.  — Statue  of  Peter  the  Great.  — Boy  Czars. 

— Peter’s  Lawyers.  — Devotion.  — Cathedral.  — Trophies.  — 
Isaac’s  Cathedral. — Amazing  Splendor. — Worship.  — Offer- 
ings.— Holy  of  Holies.  — Behind  the  Scenes.  — Careful  Hus- 
bands.— Greek  and  Romish  Churches.  — Lent. — Sabbath. 

— Exorcism.  — Honors  paid  the  Virgin 293 


XX 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

RUSSIAN  ART,  CUSTOMS,  AND  MANNERS. 

Winter  Palace.  — Ways  of  Royalty.  — Crown  Jewels.  — Orloff 
Diamond.  — Hermitage.  — Art  Galleries.  — Curious  Code  of 
Laws.  — Royal  Museum.  — Peter’s  Walking-stick.  — Art 
Culture.  — Condition  of  the  Masses.  — Laborers.  — Me- 
chanics. — Prices.  — Rent.  — Food.  — Dress.  — Peculiar  Cus- 
tom. — Polite  Bankers.  — Despot.  — Justice.  — Verdicts.  — 
Story  of  Labanoff.  — Siberia.  — Abuses.  — Academy  of 
Science.  — Zoological  Museum. — Sunset  on  the  Neva. — 
Boatman. — Light  at  Evening-tide  310 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

FROM  ST.  PETERSBURG  TO  MOSCOW. 

American  Engineers.  — Sleeping  Arrangements.  — Newspapers. — 
Drama.  — Courtesy.  — Lubanskaia  — Dinner.  — Villages.  — 

The  Volga. — Murdered  Bishop. — Sleeping  Car. — Ladder. 

— Russian  Jargon. — Pathetic  Appeal.  — Board.  — Refresh- 
ments.— Greek  Ecclesiastic.  — Patriarch  Nicon.  — New  Jeru- 
salem. — Profanity.  — Tyranny  — Revolt.  — Pope  of  the 
North.  — Emperor’s  Slight.  — Nicon’s  Humility  — Banish- 
ment. — Patriarchates.  — Dead  Level.  — Flight  of  Freedom  . 322 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  KREMLIN  AND  THE  BELLS  OF  MOSCOW. 

A Swiss  Landlord.  — Fleas. — Shrines. — Palaces,  Cottages,  and 
Churches.  — The  Moskva.  — Circular  City.  — Kremlin  Walls. 

— Gates.  — Chief  Entrance. — Picture  of  the  Redeemer. — 
Respect.  — Cannon.  — Miracle.  — Splendid  Scene.  — Tower 
of  Ivan.  — Bells.  — Medium  of  Worship.  — Holy  City.  — Pil- 
grims.— Bell-making. — Precious  Metals.  — Silver  Bells. — 
Chapel  of  the  Betrothed. — Music  of  the  Bells 330 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  CHURCHES  OF  MOSCOW. 

Cathedral  of  the  Assumption.  — Bones  of  the  Patriarchs. — The 
Iconastasis.  — Sanctuary.  — Archbishop’s  Throne.  — Coro- 
nation Ceremony.  — Tombs.  — Cathedral  of  the  Archangel 


CONTENTS. 


XXI 


Michael. — Religious  Freedom. — Churches. — Cathedral  of 


St.  Basil.  — Archangel  Cathedral.  — Pilgrims. — Golgotha.. 

— Sacristy.  — Religion.  — Holy  Oil.  — Baptism.  — Making 
of  the  Holy  Chrism  340 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

PALACE  AND  INSTITUTIONS  OF  MOSCOW. 

Royal  Palace.  — Empress’s  Drawing-room. — Empress’s  Cabi- 
net.— Hall  of  St.  George.  — Hall  of  St.  Andrew. — Gold 
Court.  — Napoleon’s  Descent. — Treasures.  — Historical  Cu- 
riosities. — Precious  Orb.  — Foundling  Hospital.  — Mortality 
of  Foundlings.  — Orphan  Asylum. — Sheep’s  Clothing. — 
Harvest  Season.  — Jews.  — Peasants.  — Riding  School.  — 
Wax-show.  — Ethnological  Society.  — Travel.  — Sydney 
Smith’s  Stick 350 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

FROM  MOSCOW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 

Commercial  Travellers.  — Sparrow  Hills.  — Church  of  the 
Saviour.  — Simonoff  Monastery.  — Novo-Devichi  Convent.  — 

The  Moskva.  — A Holiday.  — Napoleon’s  March.  — Borodino. 

— Evacuation  of  Moscow.  — French  Enthusiasm — Triumphal 
Entry.  — Surprise. — Incendiarism.  — Return  of  the  French. — 
Horrors  of  the  March. — Russian  Barbarism. — Public  Kissing. 

— From  Moscow  to  St.  Petersburg.  — Fussy  Ladies. — Klin. 

— Dinner.  — Tver.  — Beggars.  — Night  without  Darkness. — 

The  Fussy  Ladies  again.  — Sunrise.  — Marriage  Customs  . 359 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

FINLAND. 

Americans.  — Cronstadt.  — Fortifications.  — Vessels.  — Smoking. 

— Wyborg.  — Saw-mills.  — Channel.  — Ruined  Tower.  — 
Submission  of  Finland.  — Religion.  — Government.  — Har- 
vests. — Famines.  — Army.  — Wages.  — Fens-  — Lakes  and 
Islands. — Drosky.  — Huge  Stones.  — Excursion. — Eden  in 
the  North. — Serpent  in  the  Garden. — Long  Bills. — At- 
tentions paid  Strangers.  — A Finnish  Lady.  — Fishermen. — 

A Killing  Man. — Gulf  of  Finland. — Fredericksham.  — Sclava. 

— Hard  Case.  — Social  Customs 371 


XXII 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Finland  (continued)* 

Helsingfors. — Sweaborg.  — Fortified  Islands.  — Society  House. 

— Ducal  Palace.  — Finnish  Gentlemen.  — Senate  House. — 
University.  — Observatory.  — Library.  — Literature.  — Kale- 
wala.  — Schiller  and  Shakespeare.  — Language.  — Congress. 

— Coats  of  Arms. — Botanical  Garden  — House  of  Refresh- 
ment.— Health  Establishment.  — Mineral  Fountain  — Rocky 
Islands.  — Fishing.  — Peasantry.  — Abo.  — Hotel.  — Good 
Manners.  — Castle.  — Cathedral.  — Tombs.  — Conflagration. 

— Carriole.  — Kibitka.  — Bondkara. — Finns 383 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

SWEDEN. 

Harbor  of  Abo.  — Swedish  Customs. — Eating  and  Drinking. — 
Climate. — The  Baltic.  — Stockholm.  — Porters.  — Hotel  Ryd- 
burg.  — Pleasant  Quarters.  — Scandinavia.  — Odin.  — Sagas. 

— Christianity.  — Lutheran  Religion.  — King.  — Congress.  — 
Hospital.  — Physicians.  — Clergymen.  — Education.  — Relig- 
ious Toleration.  — The  Press.  — Cost  of  Living. — Vice. — 

The  Riddarholm’s  Kyrkan. — Tomb  of  Gustavus  Adolphus. 


— Reformation.  — Royal  Palace.  — Picture  Gallery.  — Li- 
brary.— Codex  Aureus. — King  of  Sweden. — Mimic  War. — 
Standing  Army.  — Order. — Thieves 394 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Sweden  (continued). 

Drottningholm. — Lake  Malar. — Sigtuna. — Odin.  — Superstition. 
— Pirates.  — Rural  Life.  — Professor  Olivecrona. — Islands. — 
Chateau.  — Commercial  Life.  — Manuscripts.  — University  of 
Upsala.  — Codex  Argenteus.  — Icelandic  Literature.  — Stand- 
ard of  Education. — Students. — Costume.  — Cathedral. — 
Statue  of  Thor.  — Old  Upsala.  — Mora  Stone.  — Mass  Meet- 
ings.— Graves  of  Pagan  Deities. — Temple  of  Odin.  — An- 
cient Tower.  — Battle-field  of  Faith.  — Deer  Park  Restaurant. 
— Social  Customs.  — Swedish  Homes.  — Content.  — Moral 
Progress 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Sweden  (continued). 

Steam  Canal. — The  Oscar. — View  of  Stockholm.  Sodertelje. 
St.  Olaf.  — The  Gota  Canal.  — Castles  and  Legends.  — So- 


CONTENTS 


XX111 


derkoping.  — Tavern  Breakfast.  — Sabbath  in  Sweden.  — 
Church.  — Costumes.  — Service.  — Snuffing  and  Nasal  Sing- 
ing.— Watering-place.  — Physician. — College  of  Health. — 
Baths.  — Mineral  Waters.  — Emigration.  — Lodging  and 
Board 423 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

SWEDEN  ( COJltiflUed ). 

On  the  Gota  Canal  again.  — Working-girl.  — Lake  Asplagen. — 
Swedish  Professor.  — Lake  Roxen.  — Berg.  — The  Vetra-Klos- 
ter.  — Graveyard. — Tombs  of'  the  Douglases.  — School- 
house. — Dinner  on  the  Canal.  — Crops.  — Lock-keeper. — 

Lake  Boren.  — Motala. — Iron-works. — Lake  Wetter. — 
Wadstena. — Pea-crop.  — Peasantry. — Labor.  — Cold. — Sun- 
set.— Forsvik. — Russian  Gentleman. — Lake  Wenner. — 
Trout.  — Falls  of  Trollhatten.  — River.  — Unfortunate  Sailor. 

— Collection.  — Hongfel  Castle.  — Gottenburg.  — Cheap 
Lodgings. — Museum.  — Daily  News. — Training  House  for 
Servants. — Philanthropy 433 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

NORWAY. 

Embarkation.  — Breakfast. — Skager-rack  and  Cattegat.  — Frei- 
dericksvern.  — Christiania.  — Hotel  du  Nord.  — Flowers  and 
Fountains. — Stove.  — Norwegian  Breakfast.  — Museum.  — 
Superstition.  — Duel  of  the  Girdle.  — Bridal  Ornaments. — 
Heathen  Relics.  — Learning  and  Letters.  — Lake  Mjosen. — 
English  Commercial  Traveller Boat  Library.  — Sports- 

men.— Church.  — Fat  Pastor.  — Remnants  of  Popery. — 
Costumes.  — The  Lord’s  Supper. — Service.  — Devotion  and 
Reverence.  — Oneness  of  the  Church. — Lillehammer. — 
Cheap  Living.  — Cripple.  — Christiania.  — Carriole.  — Post 
Horses  and  Boys.  — Agershaus.  — Robin  Hood  of  Norway. 

— Benevolent  Institutions.  — Grave  of  Bradshaw 447 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

DENMARK. 

Skager-rack  and  Cattegat.  — Magnificent  Sunset.  — Elsinore.—* 

Toll.  — House  of  Tycho  Brahe.  — Kronborg.  — Treaty  of 
Vienna.  — Danish  Giant.  — Fortifications.  — Hamlet’s  Grave. 


XXIV 


CONTENTS. 


— True  History.  — Royal  Castle.  — Queen  of  Christian  II. — 
Touching  Prayer.  — Royal  Forest.  — Castle  of  Peace.  — Den- 
mark.— Her  History.  — Valdemar  II.  — Schleswig-Holstein. 

— - Christianity.  — General  Intelligence.  — Education.  — Co- 
penhagen. — Thorvaldsen’s  Museum.  — Statues.  — Vanity.  — 

Hall  of  Christ.  — Gems  and  Bronzes.  — Vor  Frue  Kirke. — 
Religion  and  Art.  — Church  Service.  — Baptism.  — Love  of 
Amusement.  — Theatres.  — Public  Gardens.  — Museum.  — 
Ruins. — Monuments.  — South  American  Gentleman.  — Zea- 
land.— Fleas. — Kiel.  — Elmshorn.  — Home  Again  . . . 462 


SPAIN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GRANADA. 

TN  the  grounds  of  the  Alhambra,  the  ancient  palace  of  the 
Moorish  kings  of  Granada,  what  time  those  conquerors 
of  Spain  here  held  their  right  regal  court,  I have  come  to 
sit  down  and  to  rest. 

My  lodgings  are  just  under  the  walls  of  the  old  castle,  in 
sight  of  its  crumbling  towers,  in  hearing  of  its  many  falling 
waters,  and  under  the  shadow  of  its  English  elms,  which 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  gave  to  Spain.  At  any  moment  a 
few  steps  take  me  into  the  courts  and  halls  and  chambers 
of  the  Alhambra.  In  years  past,  while  this  pearl  of  Arab 
art  and  Oriental  splendor  was  silently  suffered  to  fall  into 
ruin,  with  the  lapse  of  centuries,  it  has  been  the  habit  of 
some  travelled  authors  more  addicted  to  romance  than 
others,  to  get  the  easy  privilege  of  sharing  lodgings  with 
the  bats  in  some  deserted  chamber,  and  they  doubtless 
fancied  themselves  inspired  with  the  genius  of  the  place, 
as  they  dreamed  and  wrote  where  fair  sultanas  with  their 
charms  eclipsed  the  splendors  of  the  fairy  place  itself. 

• As  it  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  indulge  in  romance 
while  writing  these  sketches  of  the  Alhambra  and  of  Spain, 
and  as  the  walls  of  a comfortable  inn  are  much  more  to  the 
taste  of  a weary  traveller  than  the  stone  floors  and  open 


i 


2 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


windows  of  a tumbling  old  castle,  it  is  my  preference  to 
take  up  my  abode  for  the  present  with  the  good  people  in 
the  Alhambra  Hotel,  and  not  with  the  keepers  of  the  palace 
itself.  Besides,  there  is  no  choice  left.  The  government 
has  undertaken  the  work  of  restoring  the  Alhambra  to  its 
pristine  beauty,  and  this  process  is  now  going  onward  under 
the  direction  of  Sr.  Contreras.  He  has  already  displayed 
so  much  skill  in  imitating  the  arabesque  decorations  of  the 
walls,  that  only  a practised  eye  perceives  the  difference  when 
the  ancient  and  the  modern  art  appear  in  the  same  chamber. 

Architects  as  well  as  amateur  travellers  from  all  parts  of 
the  civilized  world,  for  centuries  past,  have  made  artistic 
and  pleasure  journeys  hither  to  study  and  admire  the  style 
that  has  nothing  like  it  except  in  Spain,  and  here  only 
where  the  Moors  held  sway.  And  perhaps  no  work  of  art 
in  the  whole  world  has  been  more  frequently  and  fully 
described  than  the  Alhambra  of  Granada.  History,  poe- 
try, and  science  have  tried  their  several  hands  upon  it. 
Romance  has  been  so  busy  with  it  that  it  is  not  an  easy 
task  to  disentangle  the  web  of  fiction,  and  get  the  only  part 
of  the  tale  worth  knowing.  So  dear  is  truth,  the  simple, 
naked  truth  of  history,  to  every  true  soul,  that  he  is  a great 
doer  of  evil  who  seizes  upon  history,  and  while  professing 
to  write  it,  weaves  into  his  story  the  fancies  of  his  own  pro- 
lific genius,  and  that  so  deftly  and  so  charmingly  that  the 
whole  is  accepted  as  veritable  history,  and  the  romance  as 
the  most  credible  and  interesting  of  the  whole.  Early 
English  history  has  thus  been  illustrated  and  inextricably 
confused.  The  spell  of  the  magician’s  wand  has  thus  made 
the  conquest  of  Mexico  a poem  rather  than  a reliable  nar- 
rative. And  Spain,  more  than  any  other  land,  is  now  hope- 
lessly given  up  to  legends  and  doubtful  chronicles,  modern 
and  antique,  so  that  one  who  reads  must  have  either  the 
credulity  of  a devotee,  or  the  indifference  of  folly,  to  read 
with  satisfaction  the  ancient  history  of  the  Peninsula. 


GRANADA. 


3 

But  the  Alhambra  is  here ! Granada  is  where  it  was  a 
thousand  years  ago ! The  same  deep  blue  sky,  the  bluest 
sky  that  covers  any  land,  hangs  over  its  magnificent  Vega 
or  plain,  through  which  the  Darro  and  the  Genii,  united, 
flow  ! The  hills,  each  one  with  a story  that  can  be  scarcely 
heard  without  a tear,  stand  where  and  as  they  did  when  the 
Moors  were  masters  of  this  region,  which  they  thought  the 
terrestrial  paradise  of  maft,  and  immediately  under  the  celes- 
tial mansions  where  the  Prophet  and  the  Houris  await  the 
coming  of  all  true  believers.  The  Sierra  Nevada,  covered 
with  perpetual  snow,  seems  close  at  hand,  as  it  lies  on  the 
eastern  horizon,  and  in  this  cloudless  sky  and  brilliant  at- 
mosphere the  long  range  shines  like  silver  mountains  in 
the  noontide,  as  it  did  when  fleet  horsemen  brought  its  ice 
in  baskets  to  cool  the  drinks  of  Wali  Zawi  Jbu  Zeyn,  its 
first  Moorish  king.  Those  snowy  summits  reminded  the 
Arabs  when  they  came  here  of  Mount  Hermon,  and  this 
plain  seemed  to  them  to  surpass  in  fertility  and  beauty  the 
Vega  around  Damascus. 

And  to  this  day  the  palm-tree,  the  pomegranate,  and  the 
fig,  the  orange  and  lemon,  the  olive  and  vine,  flourish  under 
the  genial  sun.  In  these  declining  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  with  a railroad  running  into  the  city  across  the 
heart  of  this  paradise,  and  telegraphs  linking  it  with  Madrid 
and  London  and  Washington,  the  peasants  still  scratch  the 
ground  with  the  root  of  a tree  for  a plough,  and  carry  their 
produce  to  market  on  the  back  of  a donkey. 

The  creations  of  the  Moors  in  Spain  form  the  most 
remarkable  chapter  in  human  art.  To  me,  Spain  has  been 
a new  discovery;  a sudden  revelation  of  a world  within  a 
world ; the  monuments  of  an  extinct  or  departed  race 
standing  alone  in  a desert.  The  generation  that  now  pos- 
sesses the  soil  has  nothing  of  the  genius  or  taste  or  spirit 
of  the  barbaric  tribes  that  were  once  their  masters.  And 
the  Alhambra  at  Granada,  the  Mosque  at  Cordova,  and  the 


4 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Alcazar  at  Seville,  look  like  the  wrecks  of  a stranded 
empire,  whose  people  live  only  in  their  glorious  ruins. 

In  the  language  of  a brilliant  historian,  “ Spain  stands  to- 
day a hideous  skeleton  among  living  nations.” 

They  have  a legend  here  that  Adam  made  a visit  to  the 
earth  a few  years  ago,  to  see  how  his  farm  was  getting  on. 
He  alighted  in  Germany,  and  found  schools  and  colleges 
and  books,  and  the  people  intenf  on  learning.  He  soon 
left  it  for  France,  where  the  people  dressed  in  fantastic 
styles,  and  were  mad  upon  works  of  art  and  improvements 
unknown  to  our  great  ancestor.  Disgusted  with  all  he  saw, 
he  came  down  to  Spain,  and,  with  delight,  exclaimed,  u This 
is  just  as  I left  it.” 

Adam  was  nearly  right.  Of  all  the  countries  in  Europe 
this  is  more  as  it  zvas  than  any  other.  The  greatest  calam- 
ity that  ever  happened  to  Spain  was  its  expulsion  of  the 
Moors ; and  it  will  be  a century,  perhaps  many  centuries, 
before  the  arts  and  sciences  will  flourish  on  this  soil  as 
they  did  before  that  year,  so  memorable  for  the  discovery  of 
the  New  World  by  Columbus,  and  the  overthrow  of  the 
kingdom  of  Granada  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  Both 
those  events,  forming  the  most  momentous  epoch  in  the 
history  of  Spain,  occurred  in  the  year  1492,  from  which 
period  we  may  date  the  decline  of  an  empire  enriched  by 
the  untold  wealth  of  a new  world  added  to  its  possessions, 
and  strengthened  by  the  destruction  of  the  last  stronghold 
of  its  former  conquerors  and  masters.  Foreign  capital  and 
enterprise  have  forced  railroads  across  her  mountains  and 
plains,  but  the  capital  and  enterprise  of  the  world  cannot 
make  them  profitable,  when  the  people  have  no  industry 
and.no  ambition.  The  mines  of  Spain  are  so  rich  that  she 
has  no  need  of  possessions  in  the  gold  fields  of  the  western 
hemisphere ; and  they  have  been  known  and  worked  ever 
since  the  days  of  the  Phoenicians,  when  Andalusia  was  the 
Tarshish  of  Holy  Scripture.  Yet  Spain  is  more  distin- 


GRANADA. 


5 


guished  to-day,  as  being  behind  the  world,  than  for  aught  it 
has  done  or  is  doing  for  itself  or  others.  And  it  often 
seems  to  a traveller  here  in  Spain  that  he  is  in  the  Orient, 
so  many  manners  and  customs,  so  many  works,  and,  much 
more,  such  a want  of  things  he  is  wont  to  meet  with  in  the 
more  civilized  nations,  remind  him  that  he  is  among  a 
people  who  have  derived  much  of  what  they  have  and  are 
from  lands  at  the  other  end  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

It  has  a mixed  race  of  inhabitants.  It  would  not  be 
strange  if  it  had  a mixed  government  also.  Successive 
tides  of  people  have  swept  over  it,  and  the  vestiges  of  all 
are  left  on  the  surface  of  the  nation.  Very  little,  indeed,  is 
known  of  the  days  when  the  Iberians  from  Caucasus,  and 
the  Celts  from  Gaul,  were  the  rude  settlers  of  Spain ; but 
the  traces  are  more  plain  of  the  Phoenicians,  who  came  here 
1500  years  before  the  birth  of  Jesus,  and  founded  Cadiz  and 
Malaga,  and  Cordova  and  Seville.  In  the  year  218  before 
Christ  the  Romans  came,  and,  of  course,  conquered  all 
Spain,  and  reigned  here  just  six  centuries.  Then  came  the 
Goths,  sweeping  the  Romans  out  of  Spain  as  they  crushed 
Rome  in  Italy.  And  the  Goths  ruled  Spain  precisely  300 
years.  Then  came  the  Moors,  and,  in  two  pitched  battles, 
smote  the  Gothic  Christian  power  to  the  earth ; and,  like 
a hurricane  from  the  African  coast,  rushed  up  from  the 
south,  and  never  stayed  its  destructive  course  till  the  cres- 
cent had  supplanted  the  cross  on  every  tower  in  Spain. 
The  Moors  were  lords  of  Spain  just  seven  centuries.  Grad- 
ually the  crescent  waned,  as  the  Catholic  Christian  kings 
recovered  strength,  until  St.  Ferdinand  captured  Cordova, 
in  1235,  and  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  completed  the  work 
at  Granada,  on  the  third  day  of  the  year  1492,  and  the  last 
of  the  Moorish  kings  fled  from  the  Alhambra. 


6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OUT  OF  FRANCE  INTO  SPAIN  — THE  BASQUE  PROVINCES. 


WAY  down' in  the  south-west  corner  of  France,  on  the 


Bay  of  Biscay,  was  a hamlet  on  a rock-bound  coast, 
which  has  of  late  years  Suddenly  sprung  into  the  notice  of  the 
world.  The  sunshine  of  imperial  favor  ripened  the  modest 
bud  of  a humble  village  into  a flower  of  remarkable  beauty. 
What  was  a short  time  since  quite  unknown,  is  now  the 
fashionable  watering-place  of  France.  Selected  by  the  late 
* Emperor  as  his  autumnal  resort,  he  built  a handsome 
chateau,  and  named  it  Eugenie , and  thus  made  the  fortune 
of  Biarritz. 

Here  we  spent  a few  days  of  rest  after  a long  and  weary- 
ing journey.  The  coast  is  dangerous.  The  bay  is  rough 
to  a degree  that  has  become  a proverb.  An  attempt  was 
making  under  government  direction  to  construct  a break- 
water, so  as  to  enclose  a “ harbor  of  refuge,”  and  one  is 
greatly  needed.  A process,  new  to  me,  but  perhaps  com- 
mon, was  going  on : that  of  building  rocks,  or  blocks,  to 
make  the  projecting  pier.  Thousands  of  square  feet  of 
rock  are  here  in  the  hills,  but,  for  some  reason,  it  is  pre- 
ferred to  form  a concrete  mass  with  stone  and  cement. 
These  are  made  in  cubes  of  six  or  eight  feet,  with  two 
grooves  underneath  them,  and  when  they  have  stood  long 
enough  to  be  proof  against  water,  levers  are  thrust  under 
them,  a derrick  hoists  them  upon  a platform  which  is  moved 
on  a railway  to  the  pier,  where  they  are  launched  off  into 


OUT  OF  FRANCE  INTO  SPAIN. 


7 


the  deep.  The  fury  of  the  waves  at  this  point,  especially 
in  rough  weather,  is  frightful.  The  new  breakwater  was 
recently  swept  away.  Two  or  three  workmen  were  caught 
by  the  waves  rushing  higher  than  was  expected,  and  the 
poor  fellows  were  carried  off  into  a deeper  ocean.  This 
terrified  the  others,  and  they  declined  to  expose  themselves 
to  such  dangers.  The  priests  came  to  the  rescue.  They 
set  up  an  image  of  the  Virgin  on  an  overhanging  rock. 
She  looks  down  benignly  on  the  work  and  the  workmen. 
Not  one  has  been  swept  away  since  she  stood  there!! 
Confidence  is  restored.  The  breakwater  is  gradually  ex- 
tending. It  will  cost  an  immense  sum,  and  if  the  Virgin  is 
so  successful  in  saving  the  lives  of  the  landsmen  in  building 
it,  one  would  think  she  might  just  as  easily  save  the  sailors, 
and  so  render  the  harbor  unnecessary. 

On  this  stormy  coast,  where  the  surf  breaks  over  huge 
rocks,  and  sometimes  rushes  curiously  through  them  by 
passages  worn  in  ages  of  incessant  roll,  there  are  several 
coves  where  the  beach  slopes  gradually  to  the  sea,  and  the 
smooth  sand  floor  furnishes  delightful  bathing  grounds. 
Here,  in  the  season,  the  court  used  to  disport  itself  in  other 
robes  than  those  of  royalty,  and  among  the  crowds  of  fash- 
ionable people,  who  in  fantastic  deshabille  indulge  in  the 
ocean  bath,  were  daily  seen  the  Emperor  and  Empress  and 
the  remarkable  boy  who  astonished  the  mayor  by  being  the 
son  of  an  Emperor  when  only  ten  years  of  age ! 

A courier,  or  travelling  servant,  is  usually  more  of  a 
nuisance  than  assistance,  but  I had  to  have  one.  He  had 
the  Spanish  name  of  Antanazio,  was  of  course  familiar  with 
the  language,  and  he  spoke  French  also,  but  not  a word 
of  English.  He  was  a half  devout  Catholic,  and  professed 
to  be  very  discriminating  in  his  faith,  rejecting  many  of  the 
notions  of  his  countrymen,  and  swallowing  others  without  a 
strain.  He  was  a big  fellow,  so  big  that  he  could  easily 
have  taken  me  under  one  arm  and  my  companion  on  the 


8 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


other,  and  marched  into  or  out  of  Spain  at  any  moment. 
He  was  the  terror  of  the  cabmen  and  porters  and  waiters, 
bullying,  swearing,  and  pushing  his  way  through  the  thickest 
of  the  fight,  in  those  struggles  that  attend  every  arrival  of 
a passenger  in  any  part  of  the  world.  He  was  just  about 
as  honest  as  the  race  to  which  he  belongs.  Every  traveller 
thinks  his  own  courier  a pattern  of  honesty.  I have  had 
them  in  a dozen  different  countries,  and  never  yet  was  able 
to  put  the  word  honest  into  the  certificate  which  they  craved 
at  the  end  of  the  journey.  Some  are  better  than  others. 
Any  one  of  them  is  worse  than  none,  if  you  have  a slight 
knowledge  of  the  country.  Antanazio  was.  in  league  with 
every  hotel  man  to  get  as  much  out  of  us  as  he  could,  and 
he  made  up  for  his  frauds  on  a large  scale  by  an  excess  of 
zeal  to  save  a few  coppers  for  us  when  a poor  porter  or 
sacristan  was  to  be  paid  for  service.  The  gnat  and  the 
camel  were  familiar  to  Antanazio.  Yet  he  was  one  of  the 
best  couriers  to  be  found,  and  he  shall  have  the  benefit  of 
this  notice. 

Just  before  we  leave  France  to  go  into  Spain  we  pass  a 
village,  here  mentioned  only  to  cite  an  eloquent  epigram 
inscribed  around  the  dial  of  the  clock  on  its  tower : “ Vul- 
nerant  omnes , ultima  necat .”  Even  so  ; each  flying  moment 
wounds : the  last  slays.  And  after  quitting  the  Hendaye 
station,  we  dash  across  the  river  Bidassoa,  which  divides 
the  two  kingdoms.  It  would  take  us  the  rest  of  the  day 
merely  to  read  the  history  that  invests  this  crossing  with 
interest  for  all  time.  A little  dry  spot  is  in  the  bed  of  the 
river.  There  kings  and  queens  and  generals  have  met  to 
settle  affairs  of  state  as  on  neutral  ground,  and  the  petty 
patch  has  come  to  be  called  the  Island  of  Conference. 
Here,  in  the  middle  of  the  dividing  river,  Louis  XIV.  of 
France  had  his  first  meeting  with  Maria  Theresa,  daughter 
of  Philip  IV.  of  Spain,  and  they  were  married  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  St.  Jean  de  Luz  on  the  French  side  of  the  river.  On 


OUT  OF  FRANCE  INTO  SPAIN. 


9 


the  same  spot  the  kings  of  France  and  Spain  met  in  1463 
to  negotiate;  and  here  too,  in  1645,  Isabella  the  daughter  of 
Henry  IV.  was  exchanged  for  Anna  of  Austria,  the  one  to 
be  the  wife  of  the  king  of  Spain,  and  the  other  of  France. 
In  1526,  Francis  I.,  who  was  a prisoner  of  Charles  V.,  was 
here  given  up,  and  his  two  sons  accepted  as  hostages  in  his 
stead.  We  go  thousands  of  miles  to  visit  a spot  that  has 
thus  been  made  sacred  and  famous,  yet  one  can  hardly  tell 
why  he  looks  with  interest  upon  ground  so  sanctified.  The 
grass  and  the  weeds  grow  just  as  freely,  and  the  birds  are 
as  careless  in  their  songs,  and  the  water  flows  on  as  it 
always  flows;,  but  still  no  thoughtful  traveller  can  pass 
such  landmarks  in  the  march  of  great  events,  without  paus- 
ing to  observe  the  effect  which  those  events  have  had  on 
the  history  of  the  world.  And  this  is  one  of  the  greatest 
objects  before  us  as  we  enter  and  traverse  Spain.  It  is  a 
land  of  history : of  romance  too  ; and  perhaps  both  are 
equally  interesting.  For  every  line  we  cross,  and  every 
city  and  province  we  visit,  is  rich  in  association,  even  if  the 
land  is  now  but  a great  sepulchre  of  great  peoples. 

And  we  were  in  Spain.  On  the  northern  frontier,  and  in 
instant  contact  with  the  people  of  France,  is  a race  that  is 
Spanish  only  in  name,  and  hardly  that ; a race  that  has, 
through  all  the  mutations  of  government  in  this  unstable 
country,  maintained  a sort  of  independence,  with  rights  and 
privileges,  manners  and  customs  so  peculiar  to  themselves, 
that  they  may  be  said  to  be  in  Spain,  but  not  of  Spain. 

On  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  one  of  their  number, 
the  friends  gather  at  the  grave,  and  offer  to  the  departed 
gifts  of  bread  and  fruit,  as  if  they  required  supplies  of  food 
for  the  endless  journey  in  another  world.  On  the  holidays, 
which  are  many  in  a year,  they  are  wild  in  the  dance,  with 
the  tambourine  and  bagpipe  and  castanet,  being  far  more 
demonstrative  in  the  height  of  their  excitement  than  the 
more  southern  inhabitants  of  Spain.  They  are  a proud 


10 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


race,  and  more  proud  of  their  ancestry  than  any  thing  else, 
the  poorest  peasant  among  the  hills  displaying  on  the  door 
of  his  hut  a coat  of  arms,  and  claiming  descent  from  some 
ancient  and  illustrious  house.  As  a race  they  have  no 
trouble  in  reckoning  their  pedigree  back  to  Tubal  and 
Noah,  and  unless  your  tree  of  genealogy  has  branches 
springing  out  of  a trunk  that  bears  the  name  of  Adam, 
these  people  are  far  ahead  of  you  in  the  line  of  their  an- 
cestry. 

They  occupy  the  Basque  Provinces,  three  divisions,  small 
in  extent,  lying  among  the  Pyrenees  and  on  the  Bay  of 
Biscay.  They  are  probably  lineal  descendants  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Spain,  and  may  be  correct  in  their  boast  that 
they  are  not  tainted  with  Roman  or  Moorish  or  Gothic- 
German  blood.  They  still  speak  a language  so  strange  and 
so  formidable  to  a foreigner  that  it  is  said  no  one  has  been 
able  to  master  it.  There  is  a tradition  among  them  that 
the  devil  himself  spent  five  years  in  studying  it,  and  was 
able  to  learn  three  words  only.  But  after  much  inquiry  I 
could  not  trace  this  tradition  to  any  reliable  source.  In 
fact,  it  is  said  that  one  or  two  bold  and  persevering  scholars 
have  actually  made  some  inroads  into  the  language,  but  the 
discoveries  made  were  a very  poor  reward  for  the  time  and 
labor  spent. 

Into  this  new  yet  ancient  country  we  enter  at  once,  for 
it  is  the  northern  gateway  of  Spain.  At  the  outset  of  our 
journey  we  must  “ change  cars,”  for  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment, in  granting  license  for  a railroad  to  enter  its  domains, 
refused  to  allow  it  to  be  made  of  the  same  width  with  that 
of  France,  as  it  would  in  that  case  afford  to  the  French 
facilities  for  invasion  in  case  of  war!  The  idea  is  very 
characteristic  of  Spain.  And  the  same  stupidity  that  dic- 
tates such  an  impediment  to  travel  forgets  that  every  train 
of  passengers  coming  in  from  the  north  is  an  invasion  that 
is  just  as  fatal  to  the  regime  of  Spain  as  would  be  another 


THE  BASQUE  PROVINCES. 


II 


incursion  of  Goths  or  Gauls.  Ideas,  rather  than  arms, 
work  revolutions  now-a-days. 

The  mountains  have  stretched  themselves  across  this 
frontier  to  the  verge  of  the  ocean,  and  on  our  right  as  we 
go  south  is  a narrow  pass  between  two  precipitous  hills, 
and  thus  a safe  and  easily  defended  path  for  ships  is  made. 
Within  is  a snug  harbor,  where  the  largest  fleet  may  lie 
unseen,  and  unreached  by  the  storms  at  sea.  Out  of  this 
little  port  once  sailed  a man  whose  name  is  dear  to  the 
American  heart ; for  in  the  days  that  tried  the  souls  of  our 
fathers  La  Fayette  came  here  into  Spain  and  took  passage 
to  the  Western  world,  to  give  his  sword  and  his  fortune  and 
his  life  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  A little  farther  on,  a high 
castle-crowned  hill  defends  the  city  of  St.  Sebastian.  It  is 
the  first  place  of  any  importance  after  entering  Spain. 
Being  so  near  to  France,  and  so  easy  of  access  by  rail,  it  is 
common  for  Englishmen  and  others  to  take  a trip  to  St. 
Sebastian,  from  Biarritz,  which  is  only  two  or  three  hours 
distant,  and  then  they  can  say  they  have  been  to  Spain. 
There  is  nothing  of  interest  here  to  attract  the  traveller. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington,  after  losing  5,000  men  in  storming 
it,  drove  out  the  French,  and  when  his  army  got  possession 
of  the  town,  they  sacked  it,  set  it  on  fire,  and  enacted  such 
scenes  of  wild  debauchery  as  are  not  remembered  without  a 
blush  of  shame  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  half  a century. 
To  please  visitors  from  the  north,  and  to  make  their  town  a 
fashionable  resort  in  the  season,  the  people  of  St.  Sebastian 
have  a bull-ring,  and  exhibit  on  a small  scale  the  national 
entertainment  of  a weekly  bull-fight.  For  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  Spanish  blood  only  is  delighted  with  this 
savage  sport.  The  French  love  to  see  blood;  and  the  Eng- 
lish, whose  highest  national  sport  is  the  prize-fight ; and 
Americans,  who  have  been  known  to  allow  a prize-fighter  to 
be  sent  to  their  national  Congress,  — all  take  great  pleasure 
in  seeing  horses,  bulls,  and  men,  in  one  grand  melee , wounded, 


12 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


bleeding,  dying ; and  the  fairest  of  some  of  the  most  delicate 
little  women  of  these  Christian  countries  clap  their  hands 
when  the  bull  gets  the  advantage  and  tosses  his  bleeding 
victim  into  the  air. 

We  are  now  in  the  midst  of  the  mountains.  The  road 
gradually  rises  as  we  advance,  and  frequently  makes  its  way 
through  the  heart  of  the  hills.  The  valleys  lie  sweetly  far 
below.  If  the  road  followed  the  line  of  the  valleys  it  might 
be  exposed  to  frequent  injury  by  floods.  And  as  this  range 
must  be  crossed,  it  is  better  to  make  the  ascent  as  easy  as 
possible.  We  might  be  in  Switzerland,  so  like  it  are  these 
farms  on  the  hill-sides  and  in  the  valleys  ; the  sounds  that 
break  on  the  ear  are  the  same : the  houses  scattered  in  cosy 
nooks,  or  clustered  in  little  villages  which  the  church  crowns 
with  a blessing  as  of  heaven.  The  oxen  have  their  head 
and  necks  covered  with  a sheepskin  or  a woollen  blanket  to 
protect  them  from  the  rain.  They  drag  a cart  of  which  the 
wheels  are  a solid  block  of  wood  secured  with  a tire.  There 
has  been  a fair  to-day  in  some  one  of  the  villages,  and  men 
and  women  are  going  home,  leading  cattle  they  have  pur- 
chased. The  men  are  well  formed,  athletic,  straight,  and 
good-looking.  The  women  are  a superior  race,  and  even 
when  leading  a calf  the  peasant  woman  steps  proudly  along 
as  if  she  were  entering  her  drawing-room.  Their  hair  is 
their  glory,  worn  pendant  on  their  backs.  Of  their  moral 
and  mental  culture  little  is  known,  as  they  have  slight  inter- 
course with  the  outer  world.  From  the  beginning  they 
have  had  a government  of  their  own,  sometimes  being  cut 
up  into  republics,  and  managing  the  most  of  matters  in 
their  own  way.  Even  when  they  have  claimed  their  own 
congress,  and  tariff,  and  army,  the  Spanish  government 
has  thought  it  the  part  of  discretion  to  humor  them.  When 
emerging  from  these  provinces  into  Castile,  our  luggage  was 
searched  to  find  any  tobacco  we  might  be  smuggling : for 
this  is  one  of  the  privileges  of  the  Basque  Provinces,  that 


THE  BASQUE  PROVINCES. 


13 


they  may  import  tobacco  free  of  duty,  but  it  is  under  a 
tariff  the  moment  we  pass  beyond.  In  this  region  the  In- 
dian corn  of  our  own  country  is  the  principal  production. 
Peaches,  apples,  and  cherries  are  abundant.  Iron  mines 
are  worked,  and  furnaces  are  frequently  seen  in  full  blast. 
Cloth  and  paper  mills  are  in  operation.  The  inhabitants 
have  an  energy  and  enterprise  far  superior  to  that  of  the 
people  farther  south.  Many  of  them  become  seamen. 
Some  have  made  discoveries  in  distant  seas.  One  of  the 
most  peculiar  of  their  ideas,  and  one  that  may  account  for 
the  lofty  bearing  of  their  women,  is,  that  the  right  of  primo- 
geniture exists  among  them,  but  it  applies  to  the  first-born 
child,  whether  son  or  daughter!  This  often  places  the 
woman  at  the  head  of  the  house,  so  that  she  can  say,  as 
few  women  elsewhere  can  say,  “ What’s  yours  is  mine,  and 
what's  mine  is  my  own.” 

Property  is  very  widely  diffused  among  the  people ; farms 
seldom  comprise  more  than  ten  acres,  so  that  there  can  be 
no  great  practical  distinctions  among  them  on  account  of 
wealth.  They  divide  their  farms  with  hedges  instead  of 
fences  or  walls,  while  in  the  more  southern  parts  of  Spain 
they  put  up  no  fences  of  any  sort,  but  merely  mark  the 
bounds  of  land  with  a stone,  which  cannot  be  moved  with- 
out incurring  a curse. 

In  a charming  valley,  among  hills  clothed  with  chestnut- 
trees,  and  the  meadows  with  orchards  of  apples  and  pears, 
lies  the  village  of  Tolosa,  and  farther  on  we  rested  at 
Vitoria,  a famous  city,  the  capital  of  the  Province  of  Alava, 
and  celebrated  as  the  scene  of  a great  battle  between  the 
English  and  the  French  in  1813.  The  Duke  of  Wellington 
led  the  British  and  beat  the  French  under  Joseph  Buona- 
parte, who  fled  in  such  disorder  and  haste  that  all  the 
pictures  he  had  stolen  in  Spain,  and  five  millions  of  dollars, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Duke. 

We  are  now  leaving  the  Basque  Provinces  : Miranda  is 


14 


ALHAMBRA.  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  first  town  in  Castile  at  which  we  stop.  An  immense 
railroad  station  is  in  progress  of  erection,  showing  the  ex- 
pectation at  least  of  a great  amount  of  business.  We  hope 
the  hope  may  be  realized.  Crossing  the  river  Zadorra,  and 
now  the  Ebro,  and  along  the  Oroncillo,  we  are  again  in  the 
midst  of  the  wildest  and  grandest  mountain  scenery,  as  we 
take  our  iron  way  through  the  frightful  gorges  of  Pancorbo. 
And  even  here  the  legends  of  Spain  begin  to  invest  the 
crags  and  ruined  castles  with  the  interest  of  romance.  For 
on  these  heights  are  the  remnants  of  the  castle  where 
Roderick,  the  last  king  of  the  Goths,  brought  the  beautiful 
Florinda,  whom  he  saw  as  David  saw  Bathsheba,  and  see- 
ing loved,  not  wisely  but  too  well,  and  loving,  lost  his  crown, 
his  honor,  his  kingdom,  and  his  life. 


BURGOS. 


1 5 


CHAPTER  III. 

BURGOS  — THE  ESCORIAL. 

l^TOTHING  purely  Spanish  comes  in  sight  till  we  get  to 
■**  ^ Burgos.  This  old  city  is  half-way  from  the  frontier 
to  Madrid,  and  is  just  so  slow,  sleepy,  and  sluggish  a town 
as  one  should  see  to  get  a correct  impression  of  Spain  at 
the  start.  About  a thousand  years  ago,  Diego  Porcelos,  a 
knight  of  Castile,  had  a beautiful  daughter,  Sulla  Bella,  who 
was  loved  and  won  by  a German,  and  they  founded  this 
city,  calling  it  from  a German  Burg , a fortified  place, 
Burgos.  P'or  many  long  years  it  was  independent,  gov- 
erned by  a council.  Afterwards,  Gonzales  was  made  the 
governor,  as  Count  of  Castile,  who  and  his  heirs  reigned 
until,  under  F'erdinand  I.,  in  1067,  by  a happy  marriage, 
the  crowns  of  Leon  and  Castile  were  fused  into  one. 

The  legendary  hero  of  Spain,  whose  exploits  are  only  less 
than  those  of  Hercules,  was  born  in  Burgos,  and  what  is 
more  and  better,  his  bones  are  here  in  the  Town  Hall;  and 
if  any  doubt  is  entertained  of  the  fact  that  he  actually  lived 
and  died  and  was  a wonderful  man,  between  the  dates  of 
his  birth  and  death,  such  doubts  ought  to  be  dispelled  by  a 
sight  which  I had  of  an  old  brass-bound,  mouldering  chest, 
sacredly  preserved  in  one  of  the  inner  and  holy  chambers 
of  the  cathedral,  and  called  the  coffer  of  the  Cid.  Once  on 
a time  the  Cid  had  occasion  to  borrow  a large  sum  of  money 
of  two  Jewish  bankers  in  Burgos,  and  he  left  with  them  as 
security  this  trunk,  with,  as  he  said , all  his  jewels  and  gold 
in  it.  He  did  not  pay  the  money  when  it  was  due,  and  the 


BRIDGE,  GATEWAY,  AND  CATHEDRAL  OF  BURGOS. 


BURGOS 


I 7 


chest  being  opened  by  the  lenders  was  found  full  only  of 
sand  ! It  was  thought  in  those  days  a merit  to  cheat  a 
Jew,  and  the  Romanists  show  their  estimate  of  the  trick  to 
this  day  by  keeping  the  swindling  coffer  among  their  pre- 


2 


The  Cid. 


i8 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


cious  relics.  But  it  is  hardly  probable  that  a Jew  ever  lived 
who  would  lend  money  without  first  seeing  the  security,  and 
the  story  therefore  lacks  probability.  However  this  may 
be,  we  are  now  in  the  city  of  the  Cid,  and  though  a Chris- 
tian knight,  he  had  read  the  words  of  the  Prophet  of  the 
Moor,  — “ There  are  three  sorts  of  lies  which  will  not  be 
taken  into  account  at  the  last  judgment:  ist,  One  told  to 
reconcile  two  persons  at  variance.  2d,  That  which  a hus- 
band tells  when  he  promises  any  thing  to  his  wife  ; and  3d, 
A chieftain’s  word  in  time  of  war.”  Such  is  the  morality 
of  Mahomet,  and  there  is  not  a little  of  the  same  Jesuitism 
under  other  names. 

The  city  has  25,000  inhabitants,  and  one  of  the  most 
splendid  cathedrals  of  Europe;  but  not  a hotel  that  is 
decent.  We  went  to  the  best,  and  its  entrance  was  strong 
with  the  smell  of  the  stables.  The  first  flight  of  steps  in- 
side was  littered  with  dust  and  straw,  and  it  looked  as  if  we 
were  to  beded  to  a manger,  which  word  is.  indeed,  the  same 
with  the  French  salle  a manger , a dining-room.  Yet  this 
proved  to  be  as  fair  a hotel  as  Spain  at  present  offers  to  its 
friends  from  abroad.  They  are  all  inferior  to  second-rate 
hotels  in  France  or  Switzerland,  and  many  that  profess  to 
be  first-class  are  execrable.  The  charges  are  higher  than 
in  better  houses  in  countries  where  living  is  dearer,  so  that 
the  business  of  entertaining  strangers  in  Spain  is  an  organ- 
ized imposition.  The  roads  are  now  free  from  robbers  who 
formerly  infested  them  and  made  travelling  dangerous. 
The  robbers  have  evidently  left  the  highway  and  gone  to 
keeping  the  hotels.  They  still  rob  travellers,  with  less  risk 
and  trouble  than  in  the  olden  time. 

An  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Maurice,  being  high  in 
the  favor  of  Ferdinand,  the  saint  and  hero,  laid  the  foun- 
dation, a.  d.  1221,  of  the  Burgos  cathedral,  which  fairly 
challenges  comparison  with  any  or  all  of  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  ecclesiastical  architecture  in  the  world.  Having 


BURGOS. 


19 


been  built  in  successive  periods,  and  these  at  long  distances 
from  each  other,  there  is  a want  of  harmony  in  the  parts, 
but  this  is  observed  only  by  the  professional  eye,  while  to 
others,  and  especially  on  one  who  enters  this  first  of  the 
great  edifices  of  Spain,  its  interior  bursts  with  a blaze  of 
grandeur  covered  with  beauty,  that  fairly  dazzles  while  it 
awes  and  delights  him.  And  after  having  visited  and 
leisurely  studied  half  a dozen  others,  including  those  of 
Toledo  and  Seville,  I regard  the  cathedral  of  Burgos  as 
exhibiting  a degree  of  perfection  in  detail,  an  elaborate  exe- 
cution to  adorn  and  embellish  a sanctuary,  not  equalled  by 
any  of  its  rivals  in  Spain. 

And  it  is  to  Spain  that  we  must  come  to  see  what  the  art 
and  consecrated  wealth  of  princes  and  priests  can  do  to 
build  temples  in  honor  of  God.  Italy  has  nothing  like 
them.  St.  Peter’s  is  the  largest  Christian  church  in  the 
world,  and  perhaps  more  labor  and  money  have  been  ex- 
pended upon  it.  But  as  a Christian  church  it  is  a failure, 
without  and  within.  Not  so  with  any  of  these  magnificent 
monuments  of  human  power  and  devotion.  The  towers  of 
this,  at  Burgos,  with  their  graceful,  open-worked  pinnacles, 
spring  up  as  if  seeking  the  sky.  The  gates  are  grand,  and 
surrounded  and  crowned  with  has  reliefs.  Around  the 
towers  are  seventy  statues,  of  prophets  and  apostles,  and 
over  the  transept  are  twenty-four  life-size  statues  of  female 
saints,  each  covered  with  a canopy,  as  guardian  angels  on 
this  house  of  prayer.  Moses  and  Aaron,  in  stone,  stand  by 
one  of  the  doors,  with  Peter  and  Paul,  and  in  the  vestibule 
is  the  Saviour,  and  around  him  the  four  evangelists  are 
writing  the  holy  gospels,  while  at  least  fifty  statues,  apos- 
tles, angels  with  candlesticks,  seraphs,  and  cherubs,  add  to 
the  ornament  of  this  one  gate. 

It  is  quite  impracticable  to  convey  by  words,  and  it  is  a 
fact  that  drawings  or  photographs  of  interiors  fail  to  convey 
an  idea  of  the  view  which  one  meets  on  entering  a vast 


20 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


cathedral.  The  impression  is  on  a devout  mind,  whether 
of  the  same  faith  with  that  professed  by  the  ministers  at 
these  altars  or  not,  the  impression  is  one  of  solemnity  and 
sublimity.  When  the  enlightened  stranger  comes  near  to 
study  the  wretched  additions  which  superstition  has  made 
to  the  simplicity  of  Christian  worship  as  established  by  its 
founder,  his  taste  and  principles  may  be  shocked  and  re- 
volted by  what  he  sees  and  hears  in  gorgeous  and  glorious 
cathedrals.  But  these  are  abuses  that  have  crept  in : fungi 
on  the  trunks  of  grand  old  forest  trees,  under  whose  branches 
it  is  a delight  to  sit  and  think  of  him  who  dwells  in  a nobler 
temple  not  made  with  hands.  Three  hundred  feet  long,  and 
two  hundred  feet  and  more  wide  within,  and  chapels  yet 
beyond,  each  one  large  enough  for  a church,  and  two  hun- 
dred feet  to  the  roof,  which  is  supported  by  vast  pillars  of 
stone,  and  each  one  of  them  wrought  elaborately  with  gar- 
lands, and  fruits,  and  images  of  angels,  and  historic  scenes 
and  incidents  in  Scripture,  — such  is  the  first  grand  view 
that  lies  before  us,  as  we  enter  th<  of  this  cathedral 

in  Burgos.  It  is  in  the  form  of  the  Latin  cross,  and  at  the 
intersection,  the  crucero , as  it  is  called  in  Spanish,  the  effect 
of  the  vaulted  dome,  and  of  the  whole  minute  and  elegant 
workmanship,  is  so  exquisite  that  the  Emperor  Charles  V. 
is  reported  to  have  said  it  should  be  placed  under  glass,  and 
Philip  II.  pronounced  it  the  work  rather  of  angels  than 
men.  I could  discern  nothing  worthy  of  such  exaggerated 
eulogy,  while  admiring  the  harmonious  proportions  and  the 
graceful  combinations  that  enhance  the  effect  of  elaborate 
sculpture  and  ingenious  decorations. 

Four  massive  columns,  embellished  with  allegorical  sculp- 
tures, form  the  transept,  and  above  them  the  main  arches 
spring.  Angels  bear  aloft  a banner,  inscribed,  “I  will 
praise  thee  in  thy  temple,  and  I will  glorify  thy  name,  thou 
whose  works  are  miracles.” 

Just  here,  for  we  were  coming  toward  the  high  altar, 


BURGOS. 


21 


Antanazio  dropped  upon  his  knees,  on  the  marble  floor. 
A little  bell  had  been  rung,  and  all  the  Catholics  in  the 
cathedral  bent  to  the  ground  as  the  host  was  elevated  for 
their  adoration  in  the  celebration  of  the  mass.  We  stood 
before  the  high  altar,  resplendent  above  and  about  it  with 
wrought  silver  and  gold  and  rich  carving  and  sculpture,  in 
which  the  life  and  death  of  the  blessed  Saviour  are  inscribed 
in  mute  yet  expressive  symbols.  In  the  choir  are  more 
than  a hundred  stalls  or  seats  of  carved  walnut,  each  one 
of  them  an  elaborate  work  of  art,  rich  with  figures  of  men 
and  beasts,  the  virgin  and  saints  in  martyrdom  and  in 
glory ; and  one  of  these  saints  is  astride  of  the  devil,  in 
memory  of  the  fact  that  the  devil  did  carry  this  saint  from 
Spain  to  Rome  in  one  night.  That’s  better  time  than  any 
of  the  Spanish  railroads  can  make. 

We  were  led  by  a kind  sacristan  through  the  various 
chapels,  all  rich  in  tombs  of  costly  workmanship,  and  some 
containing  relics  which,  to  the  believer  in  their  virtue,  are 
of  priceless  value ; one  of  these  precious  treasures  being  a 
statue  of  Christ  on  the  cross,  which  we  were  expected  to 
behold  with  deep  reverence.  It  is  asserted  and  believed  to 
have  been  carved  by  Nicodemus  just  after  he  had  buried 
the  Saviour.  It  is,  therefore,  an  authentic  likeness  ; and  if 
any  doubt  existed  of  its  being  a genuine  work,  it  is  removed 
by  the  facts  that  the  hair,  the  beard,  the  eyelashes  even, 
and  the  thorns,  are  all  natural,  real ; that  it  sweats  every 
Friday;  that  it  sometimes  actually  bleeds;  and  that  it  has 
performed  many  miracles.  It  would  have  been  more  im- 
pressive on  my  unbelieving  mind  if  it  had  not  been  girt 
about  with  a red  petticoat ! 

The  castle  has  a history  in  which  the  names  of  all  the 
great  warriors  of  the  last  thousand  years  have  a part;  it 
has  been  the  prison  of  some  kings,  and  the  bridal-chamber 
of  queens,  and  the  birth-place  of  more.  In  modern  times 
Napoleon  conquered  it.  And  what  is  more  remarkable, 


THE  ESCORIAL. 


THE  ESCORIAL. 


23 


Wellington  tried  to  drive  out  the  French,  and  failed.  It  is 
now  a heap  of  ruins ; for  when  the  French  abandoned  it 
they  blew  it  up,  but  so  bunglingly  that  some  three  hundred 
of  them  went  up  with  it.  The  explosion  destroyed  the 
painted  windows  of  the  cathedral,  an  irreparable  loss. 

There  is  nothing  in  Burgos  to  see  but  the  cathedral ; and 
that  is  worth  going  to  Spain  to  see,  though  you  may  have 
to  put  up  at  and  with  a Burgos  tavern. 

Philip  II.  came  to  the  throne  of  Spain  in  1556,  less  than 
twenty  years  before  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew’s  day 
in  France,  and  in  the  same  century  with  the  Reformation 
led  on  by  Luther.  His  history  and  his  character  are  famil- 
iar to  the  world.  Cold,  cruel,  bigoted,  intolerant,  morose, 
gloomy,  superstitious,  the  grandson  of  a woman  who  was 
known  by  the  name  of  Crazy  Jane,  and  who  earned  the 
title,  the  son  of  the  great  Emperor  of  Germany,  Charles  V., 
who  was  also  Charles  I.  of  Spain,  this  Philip  II.,  thus 
descended  and  thus  endowed,  was  less  a king  than  a monk, 
and  in  the  cloister  or  the  cell  was  more  at  home  than  on 
the  throne.  He  was  the  husband  of  Bloody  Mary  of  Eng- 
land, and,  like  her,  verily  thought  to  please  God  by  perse- 
cuting the  saints  and  mortifying  himself.  Perhaps  his 
queer  grandmother  had  put  the  idea  of  a palace  and  a mon- 
astery and  a tomb  into  his  head.  Perhaps  his  father,  in  the 
'gloomy  hours  when  he  meditated  retirement  and  abdication 
of  his  sovereignty,  inspired  the  son  with  this  strange  pur- 
pose. Or,  more  likely,  the  conception  with  him  was  orig- 
inal, and  as  no  monarch,  before  him  or  since,  had  such  a 
heart  under  the  guide  of  such  a head,  it  is  only  just  to  give 
him  all  the  credit  of  devising  and  achieving  one  of  the  most 
stupendous  follies  and  gigantic  monuments  that  was  ever 
executed  by  the  hands  of  men. 

The  Spaniards  reckon  the  Escorial  as  the  eighth  wonder 
of  the  world ! 

About  twenty-five  miles  north  of  Madrid,  in  the  midst  of 


24 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  dreariest  wilderness  of  barren,  rocky,  all  but  uninhabita- 
ble hills,  a region  where  no  beauty  of  scenery  cheers  the 
eye,  no  silver  river  winds  along  through  fertile  vales,  no 
verdant  slopes  are  covered  with  grazing  herds,  and  no 
forests  with  their  cool  shades  invite  the  tired  traveller  or 
the  weary  citizen  to  seek  repose,  — here,  in  the  last  of  all 
places  for  such  an  edifice,  is  placed  the  Escorial,  the  largest 
and  grandest  edifice  in  Spain,  and  the  most  remarkable  build- 
ing now  standing  on  the  earth.  What  Egypt  had  when 
Karn'ak  and  Thebes  were  in  their  prime,  what  Babylon 
and  Nineveh  knew  in  the  days  of  their  now  buried  glory, 
we  have  but  faint  knowledge.  This  house  covers  a square 
of  five  hundred  thousand  feet ! It  is  about  750  feet  long, 
and  600  feet  wide.  It  is  a royal  palace.  It  is  a monastery. 
It  is  the  sepulchre  of  the  royal  family  of  Spain.  It  is  a 
church  ; and  in  that  church,  the  chapel  of  this  strange  house, 
there  is  more  wealth  lavished  on  the  pulpits  and  altars  than 
on  any  other  that  I have  seen,  in  this  or  any  other  country. 
Yet  all  this  is  in  a wilderness,  far  away  from  cities  and  the 
abodes  of  men  who  might  be  supposed  to  admire  and  enjoy 
such  grandeur,  — a temple  in  a desert,  a palace  and  a 
sepulchre. 

Passing  on  by  the  rail  from  Burgos,  we  might  stop  at 
Valladolid,  once  the  most  renowned  of  all  the  cities  of  Spain, 
now  so  utterly  decayed  as  to  be  of  interest  only  to  anti- 
quarians. Here  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  were  married  in 
1469.  Here  Columbus,  the  worn  and  weary,  died  in  his 
own  house  in  1506.  Here  he  slept  in  death  six  years,  and 
then  his  bones  were  removed  to  Seville,  and  again  to  Cuba, 
that  they  might  rest  in  the  New  World  he  found.  Philip 
II.,  whose  Escorial  we  are  going  to  see,  was  born  here  in 
Valladolid,  and  after  he  grew  to  manhood  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  at  one  time  fourteen  Protestants,  and  thirteen  at 
another,  burnt  alive,  in  the  Grand  Square  of  the  city : a 
most  edifying  spectacle,  which  strengthened  his  faith  so 


THE  ESCORIAL. 


25 


much  that  he  afterwards  dedicated  his  mighty  structure  to 
the  good  St.  Lawrence,  who  was  broiled  to  death  on  a grid- 
iron, enduring  his  torments  with  so  much  fortitude  that  he 
said  to  his  executioners,  44 1 am  done  on  this  side,  perhaps 
you  had  better  turn  me  over,” — whence  comes  the  expres- 
sion, 44  done  to  a turn.” 

Philip  II.  made  Madrid  the  capital  of  his  kingdom,  hold- 
ing his  court  there  or  at  the  Escorial,  at  his  pleasure,  for 
they  were  only  a few  hours  apart. 

It  is  a long  but  pleasant  walk  from  the  station  to  the 
palace,  and  it  is  better  to  stroll  along  the  shaded  avenues, 
resting  at  times  on  the  solid  stone  seats,  looking  upward  at 
the  solitary  pile  ahead,  and  musing  on  the  wonderful  dead 
past ; the  pomp  and  pageantry,  the  vast  processions  of 
priests  and  kings  and  countless  armies  of  Spain,  of  France, 
of  England,  that  have  marched  up  this  sam&  street,  in 
triumph,  in  penitential  grief,  or  in  funeral  array.  Away 
from  the  world,  the  world  has  often  come  hither,  under  the 
many  garbs  the  world  wears,  according  as  it  is  in  glory  or 
in  shame.  Entering  the  grand  quadrangle  by  the  chief 
gate,  the  colossal  edifice  presents  its  central  front  and  the 
two  lateral  projections  in  one  view;  the  main  facade  is 
adorned  with  statues  of  the  principal  personages  in  Old 
Testament  history.  Crossing  the  court,  paved  with  great 
granite  blocks,  we  enter,  and  the  massive  walls,  the  cold 
damp  halls,  gloomy  in  their  naked,  solid  grandeur,  make 
us  feel  that  we  are  entering  a fortress,  and  not  a palace. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  find  your  way  without  a guide. 
There  are  sixteen  courts  within,  and  out  of  each  of  them 
long  passages  lead  to  eighty  staircases,  and  up  these  we 
may  go,  if  we  have  time,  to  twelve  thousand  doors,  and 
look  out  of  two  thousand  six  hundred  windows,  and  worship 
at  forty  altars  ! ! You  wish  to  be  excused  from  such  climb- 
ing and  kneeling.  Come,  then,  with  me  at  once  into  the 
church.  It  is  more  than  300  feet  long,  and  230  feet  wide, 


2 6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


and  320  feet  high:  of  granite  all ; its  columns  are  majestic 
in  their  proportions,  severe  in  Doric  simplicity,  supporting 
twenty-four  arches,  so  beautifully  sprung  that,  wherever  you 
stand,  the  eye  takes  in  the  whole  at  a glance.  The  pulpits 
surpass,  in  the  splendor  of  their  finish,  any  thing  in  Italy. 
The  richest,  variegated,  and  most  precious  marbles,  used  as 
freely  as  though  they  were  common  wood,  are  adorned  with 
gold  and  silver,  strangely  in  contrast  with  the  severity  of 
the  church  itself.  The  altar  is  reached  by  a flight  of  several 
steps,  and  on  the  right,  as  we  stand  in  front  of  it,  a window 
opens  into  a little  chamber,  which  we  sought  with  more 
interest  than  any  other  apartment  of  this  remarkable  struc- 
ture. We  went  out  of  the  church  and  into  the  room.  It 
was  scarcely  ten  feet  by  six  in  dimensions  ; but  it  was  the 
favorite  closet,  the  study  and  the  bedchamber  of  the 
monarch  who  built  the  whole.  This  was  all  he  wanted  for 
himself.  It  was  in  sight  and  hearing  of  the  service  at  the 
high  altar.  At  midnight  and  before  daybreak  he  could  rise 
from  his  couch,  and  join  in  the  service  of  the  church.  I 
sat  down  in  the  plain  old  chair,  by  the  table,  the  same  that 
he  used,  and  put  up  my  feet  on  the  camp-stool  that  often 
held  his  diseased  and  agonized  limbs,  and  looked  down  from 
the  little  window  on  the  priests  and  people  in  the  church 
below.  And  here  in  this  room  death  came  and  called  for 
Philip  II.  For  long  months  he  had  suffered  anguish  not 
less  than  that  he  had  inflicted  on  better  men  than  he.  Let 
us  leave  it  for  others  to  say  if  like  Herod  he  was  smitten  for 
his  sins,  and  destroyed  with  the  same  disease.  But  when 
he  saw  that  his  end  was  near,  at  his  order  his  servants  bore 
him  on  a couch  through  the  palace,  and  the  monastery  and 
the  church,  that  his  poor  dying  eyes  might  rest  once  more 
on  all  that  he  had  done,  and  then  they  brought  him  back  to 
his  lonely,  comfortless  cell,  and  left  him  to  die.  It  was  on 
a September  Sabbath  morning,  in  1598,  while  listening  to 
the  service  at  this  altar,  and  holding  in  his  hand  the  same 


THE  ESCORIAL. 


27 


crucifix  that  fixed  the  dying  eyes  of  the  Emperor  his  father, 
that  Philip  yielded  his  spirit  into  the  hands  of  a just  as  well 
as  merciful  God ! 

We  left  this  sad  chamber,  and  descending  a flight  of  steps 
made  of  precious  stones,  the  walls  lined  with  beautiful, 
polished  marbles,  we  stood  in  a subterranean  chapel,  a 
mausoleum,  shelves  on  each  of  the  eight  sides,  and  on  each 
shelf  a bronze  sarcophagus,  and  in  each  coffin  a dead  king 
or  queen.  The  name  of  each  occupant  is  inscribed  on  the 
outer  shell.  One  of  the  queens  scratched  her  name  on  her 
coffin  with  a pair  of  scissors  before  she  was  put  in.  She 
could  not  have  well  done  it  after.  There  is  an  altar  in  this 
dungeon,  and  here  the  late  queen  of  Spain,  who  is  very 
devout  in  her  way,  came  once  a year  and  had  a service  at 
midnight.  It  adds  nothing  to  the  solemnity  to  have  mass 
here  in  the  night,  for  at  noonday  we  had  to  hold  candles  in 
our  hands  to  see  our  way  in  and  out. 

The  Sagrario  was  a more  interesting  apartment  than 
this.  It  has  some  fine  paintings.  I valued  them  more 
than  the  7,400  relics  which  are  here  preserved  with  pious 
care,  including  the  entire  bodies  of  eight  or  ten  saints, 
twelve  dozen  whole  heads,  and  three  hundred  legs  and 
arms.  It  once  had  — but  the  fortunes  of  war  have  deprived 
the  house  of  the  treasure  — one  of  the  bars  on  which  St. 
Lawrence  was  burnt,  and  one  of  his  feet,  with  a piece  of 
coal  still  sticking  between  its  toes ! but  the  coal  and  the 
toes  are  lost  in  toto. 

One  of  the  priests,  who  was  leading  a company  of 
strangers  visiting  the  place,  overheard  me  asking  for  the 
Cellini  crucifix,  and  immediately  took  us  to  the  choir,  and 
opened  the  door  of  a closet  in  which  this  remarkable  work 
is  carefully  preserved.  It  is  a Carrara  marble  statue  of 
Christ  on  the  cross,  and  marked  by  the  great  Benvenuto 
himself  with  his  name  and  the  date,  1562.  He  was  the 
first  who  made  a crucifix  in  marble,  and  the  patient  toil  and 


28 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


great  genius  expended  on  this  work  have  made  it  justly 
esteemed  as  his  master-piece  of  sculpture. 

Yet  have  I alluded  to  but  one  or  two  out  of  a thousand 
things  that  fix  the  attention,  and  impress  one  -rather  with 
astonishment  than  delight.  I have  not  even  mentioned  the 
library,  which  is  the  crown  of  the  whole,  designed  to  be  the 
repository  of  all  learning,  and  in  spite  of  all  its  sufferings  by 
violence,  it  is  still  rich  in  rare  and  valuable  books  and  man- 
uscripts. The  cases  are  of  ebony  and  cedar.  Jasper  and 
porphyry  tables  stand  through  the  hall,  about  200  feet  long, 
and  allegorical  paintings  adorn  the  ceilings. 

It  was  refreshing  to  get  out  of  it,  after  walking  through 
the  palace  and  the  cloisters,  and  to  enjoy  the  warm  sunshine 
beyond  the  gloomy  walls.  Two  or  three  cottages  have  been 
built  among  the  groves  planted  here,  and  it  seems  a mercy 
to  children  to  provide  a more  cheery  home  for  them  than  a 
sepulchral  palace  could  be,  though  of  wrought  gold. 


MADRID. 


29 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MADRID  — A SABBATII  AND  A CARNIVAL. 

A VALET-DE-PLACE  who  was  leading  us  to  church  on 
“*■  Sunday  morning  in  Madrid,  spoke  very  fair  English, 
and  I asked  him  where  he  had  learned  it.  He  said,  “ At  the 
missionary's  school  in  Constantinople.”  He  was  quite  a 
polyglot,  professing  to  be  able  to  speak  seven  languages 
fluently.  It  was  interesting  to  meet  a youth  who  knew  our 
missionaries  there,  and  entertained  a great  respect  for  his 
old  teachers,  — and  it  gave  us  an  idea,  too,  of  the  indirect 
influence  which  such  schools  must  be  exerting,  when  youth 
are  trained  in  them,  and  afterwards  embark  in  other  callings 
than  those  that  are  religious  in  their  purpose. 

He  led  us  to  the  Prussian  ambassador’s,  where  the  chap- 
lain preaches  in  the  French  language.  No  Protestant 
preaching  was  then  allowed  in  Madrid,  — none,  indeed,  in 
Spain,  — except  under  the  flag  of  another  government. 
The  ambassador,  or  the  consul,  had  the  right,  of  course, 
to  regulate  his  own  household  as  he  pleases ; and,  under 
this  necessary  privilege , he  has,  if  he  is  so  disposed,  a 
chaplain,  and  divine  service  on  Sunday,  when  his  doors  are 
opened  to  all  who  choose  to  attend.  The  practical  working 
of  it  is  that  a regular  congregation  comes  to  be  established 
under  each  flag,  if  there  are  so  many  persons  of  that  coun- 
try and  of  a religious  tendency  as  to  make  it  important.  In 
most  of  the  great  capitals  of  Europe  there  are  people  of 
other  countries  resident  for  business,  health,  or  pleasure, 
and  they  find  a place  of  worship  in  their  own  tongue. 


30 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  Germans  resident  in  Madrid  speak  the  French 
language,  as  well  as  their  own,  and  the  present  chaplain 
preaches  in  French.  He  is  an  earnest,  excellent  man,  and 
his  pulpit  abilities  would  make  him  greatly  useful  in  a 
wider  sphere  than  this.  In  an  upper  chamber,  that  would 
seat  fifty  persons,  a little  congregation,  not  more  than 
twelve  or  fifteen,  had  come  together  to  hear  the  Word. 
The  desk,  or  pulpit,  was  habited  after  the  fashion  in  -Ger- 
many, with  black  hangings,  embroidered  neatly  by  the 
hands  of  the  wife  of  the  Prussian  ambassador,  and  with 
the  words  in  French,  “ Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel.”  I was  told  that  on  Christmas  and  Easter 
festivals  of  the  church  some  two  or  three  hundreds  of  Ger- 
man Christians  come  to  church  and  to  the  communion  ; but 
the  rest  of  the  year  their  spiritual  wants  do  not  require  the 
weekly  ordinances,  and  the  congregation  rarely  exceeds 
thirty  people. 

We  went  after  church  to  the  old  Palace  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion. It  is  now  converted  into  dwellings.  Over  the  main 
entrance  was  the  inscription,  common  all  over  these 
foreign  countries,  as  in  some  parts  of  our  own,  “ Insured 
against  Fire.”  The  poor  victims  who  in  former  years 
were  dragged  under  that  portal  would  have  been  glad  to 
read  such  words,  if  they  could  be  interpreted  into  an  assur- 
ance that  they  were  to  be  safe  from  the  fire  of  an  auto  da  fe . 

The  Spanish  Inquisition  affords  the  saddest  story  in  the 
annals  of  the  human  race.  Whatever  the  name  or  creed  of 
the  persecutor,  — Jew^or  Gentile,  Roman,  Greek,  Protes- 
tant, or  Mahometan,  — the  saddest  of  all  possible  facts  is 
this,  that  man  has  put  to  torture  and  to  death  his  fellow- 
man  on  account  of  his  religious  opinions.  Let  God  be 
praised  that  in  all  the  earth  men  now  may  worship  him  in 
their  own  way,  with  none  to  molest  or  make  them  afraid. 

And  it  is  very  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  persecution  has 
its  spirit,  and  some  of  its  power,  even  where  the  victims  are 


A SABBATH  AND  A CARNIVAL. 


3 


by  law  insured  against  fire.  In  the  press  and  in  the  pulpit 
the  venom  of  bigotry  and  the  bitterness  of  intolerance  may 
be  poured  on  the  heads  of  those  who  are  guilty  of  other 
opinions  than  ours,  and  in  God’s  sight  such  persecution 
may  be  as  offensive  as  the  rack  and  boot  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion. The  spirit  of  the  Master  rebukes  the  use  of  the 
sword,  even  in  the  hands  of  Peter,  to  cut  off  a servant’s 
ear,  and  the  same  spirit  forbids  us  to  be  uncharitable 
towards  the  meanest  of  those  who  have  not  the  light  of  the 
grace  to  see  as  we  see,  or  to  defend  Christ  in  our  way. 

They  have  no  cathedral  in  Madrid,  but  their  churches  are 
many,  and  on  Sunday  morning  they,  women  especially,  go 
to  church.  The  Spaniards  are  more  devout  than  the  Ital- 
ians. There  is  a proverb  that  to  go  to  Rome  is  to  dis- 
believe. The  people  in  Spain  have  not  seen  Romanism  as 
it  has  been  seen  in  Italy,  until  the  popular  mind  is  sick  of 
it.  But  they  make  short  work  in  Spain  of  their  devotions. 

The  Prado  is  their  park,  on  the  skirts  of  the  town.  And 
this  is  not  enough  for  them  on  Sundays.  We  saw  the 
crowds  pouring  out  towards  one  of  the  gates,  some  in  car- 
riages, but  most  of  them  on  foot,  — men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, hundreds,  thousands,  in  holiday  attire,  — and  we 
followed.  Beyond  the  Alcala  gate,  near  which  is  the  bull- 
ring,  half  a mile  into  the  country,  we  came  to  the  meadows 
over  which  these  pleasure-seeking  Castillians  had  spread 
themselves  to  enjoy  their  national  and  favorite  pastime.  A 
little  later  in  the  season,  when  the  weather  is  warmer, 
thousands  of  these  people  would  stop  at  the  bull-ring,  and 
see  the  battle  of  men  and  beasts.  It  is  too  cool  as  yet,  and 
the  bulls  do  not  fight  well  except  in  hot  weather.  But  it  is 
not  too  cool  to  dance  out  of  doors,  and  for  this  divertise- 
ment  these  thousands  have  come.  On  the  wide  meadows 
there  is  not  a house,  not  a shanty,  not  a shed  or  booth. 
We  have  passed  on  the  way  scores  of  wine-shops  ; and  there 
the  people  can  resort  if  they  choose.  But  on  the  grounds 


32 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


there  is  nothing  to  be  had  but  the  pure  and  blessed  air. 
The  people  are  distributed  in  groups  all  over  the  plain. 
The  grass  is  green.  The  sun,  a winter  sun,  is  kind  and 
genial.  The  city  lies  in  full  view,  with  palaces  and  domes 
and  pinnacles.  And  in  the  distance,  but  in  this  blazing 
sun  and  lucid  atmosphere  apparently  very  near,  long  ranges 
of  mountains  stand  covered  with  snow,  white,  pure,  glisten- 
ing like  silver  in  the  sunlight,  and  forming  a magnificent 
background  to  the  gay  picture  at  our  feet.  In  the  centre 
of  each  of  these  many  groups  a dozen,  more  or  less,  of 
young  men  and  women  are  dancing  to  music.  This  is 
furnished  by  one,  two,  or  three  musicians,  strolling  bands, 
with  guitars  and  violins.  Often  one  is  an  old  man,  blind. 
His  wife  and  daughter  are  with  him,  with  their  instru- 
ments. The  airs  are  not  wild,  not  even  lively,  as  compared 
with  those  of  Italy.  But  they  are  spirited,  and  sometimes 
familiar  to  a foreign  ear ; for  the  airs  of  music,  like  the  airs 
of  heaven,  travel  all  around  the  world.  The  dances  are 
pretty  and  modest,  singularly  tame,  and  far  from  being  as 
full  of  frolic  and  abandon  as  one  would  expect  to  see  in  the 
out-of-door  amusements  of  the  common  people.  For  these 
are  the  lower  classes  only.  It  is  the  pastime  of  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  toil,  and  perhaps  want.  They  were  not 
ill  dressed,  and  most  of  them  were  well  dressed.  But  they 
appeared  to  be  the  class  of  people  who  had  but  this  day  in 
the  week  for  pleasure,  and  were  now  seeking  and  finding  it 
in  a way  that  cost  them  little  or  nothing.  More  were 
looking  on  than  danced.  Yet  the  sets  changed  frequently, 
and  the  circle  widened  as  the  numbers  of  dancers  grew,  and 
there  was  always  room  for  more  ; for  the  meadows  were 
wide,  and  the  heaven  was  a roof  large  enough  to  cover 
them  all. 

And  the  strangest  part  of  this  performance  is  yet  to  be 
mentioned;  more  than  half  the  men  in  this  frolic  of  the 
fields  were  soldiers  of  the  regular  army,  in  their  uniforms, 


A SABBATH  AND  A CARNIVAL. 


33 


without  arms,  enjoying  a half  holiday.  They  and  all  the 
rest,  men  and  women,  seemed  to  be  as  happy  as  happy 
could  be.  If  we  had  thought  the  people  of  Spain,  and  espe- 
cially of  Madrid,  where  the  government  is  felt  and  seen 
more  severely  and  nearly  than  elsewhere,  to  be  gloomy, 
sullen,  discontented,  miserable,  and  ready  to  rise  in  revolt, 
such  a thought  would  be  put  to  rout  by  seeing  these  sol- 
diers and  others,  men  and  women,  thousands  and  thou- 
sands, making  themselves  so  easily  happy  of  a Sunday 
afternoon. 

In  one  of  the  circles  of  dancers  two  young  men,  better 
dressed  than  the  rest,  were  either  the  worse  for  liquor,  or 
were  feigning  to  be  tipsy.  As  the  other  dancers  paid  no 
attention  to  them,  and  let  them  amuse  themselves  in  their 
own  way,  it  is  quite  probable  they  were  playing  the  fool. 
These  were  the  only  persons  in  that  multitude,  of  the  lower 
orders  of  the  city,  who  gave  any  sign  of  having  been  drink- 
ing any  thing  that  could  intoxicate.  There  were  scores  of 
wine-shops  on  the  street,  within  the  easy  walk  of  all  who 
wished  liquors.  It  was  necessary  to  pass  them  going  and 
coming  to  and  from  the  city.  And  thousands  doubtless 
“ took  something  to  drink,”  both  going  and  coming.  The 
young  men  would  treat  the  girls,  and,  of  course,  all  would 
have  as  much  wine  as  they  wished.  For  it  is  almost  as 
cheap  as  water,  — cheaper  than  water  in  New  York  perhaps  ; 
for  there  the  tax  that  somebody  pays  for  the  use  of  Croton 
is  something,  but  here  in  Spain  wine  is  so  cheap  that,  what 
was  left  of  last  year’s  vintage  has  often  been  emptied  on  the 
ground,  or  used  instead  of  water  to  mix  mortar  with  ! Yet 
drunkenness  is  not  one  of  the  common  vices  of  Spain. 

And  so  passed  my  first  Sabbath  in  Spain,  worshipping  in 
French  with  a dozen  Christians  in  the  morning,  and  look- 
ing at  thousands  of  the  people  dancing  on  the  green  in  the 
afternoon. 

Three  days  before  Lent  begins  the  people  give  them- 

3 


34 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


selves  up  to  the  wildest  kind  of  frolic,  with  a looseness  of 
manner  that  to  a grave  and  thoughtful  foreigner  unused  to 
such  scenes  at  home  is  at  first  sight  exceedingly  foolish, 
and  then  very  stupid.  The  Carnival  is  a carne-vale,  a fare- 
well to  flesh ; a grand  celebration  of  the  approach  of  Lent, 
or  the  season  when  lentiles , beans  or  vegetables  only,  are 
to  be  eaten  for  forty  days.  As  the  people  see  the  time 
coming  when  for  more  than  a month  their  religion  requires 
them  in  a very  special  manner  to  abjure  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil,  it  seems  to  be  their  idea  to  give  the  last  three 
days  of  liberty  to  the  enjoyment  of  these  three  forms  of 
mammon-worship.  If  afterwards  they  served  the  Lord  with 
half  the  zeal  of  these  three  days  of  devil-worship,  they 
would  be  the  most  pious  people  on  the  earth.  But  to  one 
whose  religious  prejudices  are  quite  vivid  against  the  non- 
sense of  a Catholic  carnival,  it  seems  the  queerest  way  in 
the  world  to  get  ready  for  serving  God  by  plunging  head- 
long into  a scene  of  mad  revelry  that  utterly  abjures  all 
sense  and  reason,  and  converts  an  entire  city  for  three  days 
into  a pandemonium. 

Yet  it  is  all  in  such  perfectly  good  humor,  so  free  from 
riot  and  violence  and  drunkenness,  that  the  only  fault  to  be 
found  with  it  is  simply  this,  that  the  whole  community 
make  fools  of  themselves.  The  Romans  had  a proverb, 
“ It  is  well  to  play  the  fool  sometimes,”  and  perhaps  it  is. 
But  when  the  whole  town  takes  leave  of  its  senses,  and  goes 
frolicking  day  after  day,  if  it  is  a good  thing,  it  is  too  much 
of  a good  thing,  and  that  spoils  it  all. 

Our  windows  look  out  upon  the  Puerta  del  Sol,  the  great 
square  of  the  city.  From  it  radiate  the  eight  chief  streets, 
and  through  it  every  moment  the  tide  of  life  is  flowing. 
Now  it  is  the  great  centre  of  the  carnival.  Along  the 
streets  are  seen  parading  small  companies  of  men  in  masks 
and  fantastic  costumes,  with  all  sorts  of  musical  instru- 
ments, making  harsh  melodies  as  they  march.  Two  or 


A SABBATH  AND  A CARNIVAL. 


35 


three  of  the  set  are  constantly  soliciting  gifts  from  those 
they  meet,  or  holding  a cap  to  catch  money  thrown  to  them 
from  the  people  in  the  windows  and  balconies,  who  are  look- 
ing down  to  see  the  sport.  Some  of  these  rangers  are 
women  in  men’s  clothes ; more  are  men  in  petticoats  and 
crinoline,  ill  concealing  their  sex,  which  a close  shaven 
chin  and  hard  features  too  plainly  reveal.  In  this  disguise, 
great  liberties  are  taken.  A young  woman  stops  a man  on 
the  sidewalk,  claps  him  on  the  shoulder,  asks  him  for  money, 
perhaps  chucks  him  under  the  chin,  and  sometimes  more 
demonstrative  still,  she  throws  her  arms  around  his  neck 
and  gives  him  an  affectionate  salute  in  the  broad  light  of 
day  on  the  most  public  and  crowded  thoroughfare.  Even 
this  boldness  is  taken  in  good  part,  and  seldom  or  never 
leads  to  any  quarrel.  The  men  were  polite  to  the  women. 
In  no  case  did  I see  any  rudeness  offered  by  a person  in 
male  attire  to  a female  on  the  street.  The  maskers  were 
only  out  in  hundreds,  while  the  others,  looking  on  and 
enjoying,  were  thousands  on  thousands.  These  were  in  the 
usual  dress  of  ladies  and  gentlemen.  They  expected  to 
find  walking  somewhat  rough,  but  they  were  prepared  for 
it,  and  would  have  been  disappointed  had  it  been  otherwise. 
The  maskers  wore  costumes  as  various  as  the  fancy  of  the 
wearers  or  the  makers  could  invent  them.  Some  were 
clothed  in  white  from  head  to  foot,  with  stripes  of  red  or 
black  ; their  faces  painted  white  like  ghosts,  or  with  horns 
to  look  as  much  like  devils  as  possible.  Many  were  imita- 
tion negroes,  and  this  seemed  to  be  a fashionable  attire,  as 
if  the  African  were  popular  among  the  Spaniards,  who  once 
had  a great  horror  of  the  Moors.  Some  wore  a fantastic 
head-gear  that  excited  shouts  of  laughter  as  they  passed. 
One  man  strode  along  with  a false  head  five  times  the  life 
size,  so  nicely  fitted  to  his  shoulders  that  it  looked  to  be  a 
sudden  expansion  of  his  head  into  that  of  a monster.  Sol- 


36 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


emnly  the  bearer  of  this  prodigious  topknot  walked  the 
streets,  apparently  unconscious  of  the  presence  of  the  little- 
headed race  of  beings  who  were  laughing  at  his  swelled 
head. 

Carriages,  open,  splendid  barouches,  and  some  with 
seated  platforms  prepared  for  the  purpose,  drawn  by  four  or 
six  horses,  passed  by,  with  six,  eight,  and  even  twelve 
maskers,  all  clad  in  the  most  inconceivably  ludicrous  robes, 
with  queer  hats  and  trimmings ; and  some  of  them  with 
musical  instruments,  singing,  gesticulating,  bowing  to  the 
ladies  in  the  windows,  and  exchanging  salutations  with  the 
people  in  the  way.  The  drivers  and  postilions  and  footmen 
were  all  rigged  in  livery  to  match  the  costumes  of  the  com- 
pany in  the  carriage,  who  thus  aped  the  nobility  and  even 
royalty  itself  in  its  mockery  of  stately  grandeur.  And  in 
the  midst  of  these  maskers,  carriages  with  elegant  ladies, 
in  full  dress  for  riding,  go  by,  and  among  them,  with  his 
legs  hanging  over  the  side  of  the  carriage,  is  one  of  the 
most  fantastically  got-up  maskers,  whose  outlandish  cos- 
tume and'ridiculous  situation  call  out  tremendous  applause. 

On  the  Prado,  the  great  park  of  the  city,  thousands  of 
elegant  equipages  are  out  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  most 
fashionable  people  of  Madrid  are  in  the  frolic.  The  ladies 
are  loaded  with  sugar-plums  to  throw  among  the  maskers, 
and  these  gay  fellows  will  rush  up  to  any  carriage,  leap  on 
the  steps,  and  demand  a supply.  On  the  walks,  an  old 
dowager  in  a splendid  velvet  cloak  and  dress,  masked  and 
representing  an  ancient  belle,  got  up  regardless  of  expense, 
attracts  marked  attention  as  she  displays  her  fan  and 
feathers,  and  struts  as  if  in  a drawing-room  where  she  im- 
agines herself  admired.  An  old  monk  hobbles  along,  as  if 
broken  down  with  age  and  poverty.  A procession  of  priests 
mocks  at  religion  itself,  in  a country  where  we  had  thought 
it  a capital  crime  to  make  fun  of  the  priesthood. 


A SABBATH  AND  A CARNIVAL. 


37 


And  there  goes  the  Pope  himself ; a man  has  actually 
mounted  a hat  like  the  Pope’s,  and  with  white  robes  and 
gold  lace  has  made  a disguise  that  tells  its  story  instantly. 
And  the  people  laugh  to  see  it.  Nothing  is  too  sacred  nor 
too  dignified  to  be  travestied  here.  A company  of  mock 
soldiers  pretend  to  keep  order  by  making  confusion  more 
confounded.  By  some  strange  metamorphosis  a man  has 
turned  himself  into  a very  creditable  goose,  and  waddles 
along  most  naturally,  having  some  wires  at  his  command 
with  which  he  works  his  bill,  his  wings,  and  tail.  A bear 
on  horseback  rides  up,  and  Bruin  is  received  with  bravos. 
An  ox  is  mounted  also  on  ahorse,  and  then  a wolf;  and 
even  the  devil  is  represented  on  horseback,  and  a woman 
rides  astride  behind  him  and  her  arms  around  him,  a hide- 
ous, incongruous,  but  exceedingly  ludicrous  spectacle.  Her 
hoops  spread  far  behind,  covering  the  horse’s  hips  and  tail, 
so  that  the  figure  is  half  horse,  half  devil,  and  the  other  half 
woman.  One  man,  as  an  orang-outang,  leads  and  exhibits 
another  dressed  in  the  same  way.  Parties  of  dancers,  all  in 
these  ridiculous  costumes,  form  a ring  and  dance  the  fan- 
dango, with  castanets  and  cymbals  and  guitars,  executing 
the  freest  flings  and  giving  themselves  to  the  wildest  aban- 
don in  the  public  streets.  Others,  men  and  women,  dis- 
guised as  if  in  their  night-clothes  and  ready  to  go  to  bed, 
are  wandering  about,  pretending  to  be  lost,  and  their  appear- 
ance is  so  comical  that  one  almost  forgets  it  is  play,  and 
pities  the  poor  wanderers. 

But  the  description  is  growing  more  wearisome  than  the 
scene  itself.  Nonsense  all,  but  such  nonsense  as  makes 
one  laugh  at  first  and  then  feel  sad  that  grown-up  men  and 
women  can  find  amusement,  day  after  day,  in  such  infinite 
folly.  And  where  the  religion  comes  in,  it  is  hard  to  see. 
Y et  we  observe  that  our  American  and  English  friends  who 
have  leanings  through  their  own  church  towards  the  Church 


33 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


of  Rome,  take  a wonderful  interest  in  the  carnival.  They 
have  some  associations  with  it,  and  the  fast  that  follows, 
that  give  to  all  this  sport  some  significance  quite  incompre- 
hensible to  the  uncovenanted  unbelievers  in  the  outer 
courts. 


MADRID. 


39 


CHAPTER  V. 


MADRID  — PALACE  — BANK  — PICTURE-GALLERY. 
HEN  Napoleon,  as  conqueror  of  Spain,  entered  the 


royal  palace  of  Madrid  (it  was  in  1808,  his  brother 
Joseph,  the  new-made  king  of  Spain,  being  at  his  side),  the 
great  captain  paused  on  the  splendid  marble  staircase  ; and, 
as  the  magnificence  of  the  mansion  burst  upon  him,  he 
turned  to  his  brother,  and  said,  in  his  epigrammatic  way  of 
putting  his  thoughts,  “ My  brother,  you  will'  be  better 
lodged  than  I.” 

It  is  far  more  splendid  than  the  Tuileries,  or  any  palace 
in  France,  England,  Germany,  or  Italy.  It  cost  more  than 
five  millions  of  dollars  a hundred  years  ago : and  that  was  a 
much  greater  sum  of  money  than  now.  It  has  been  en- 
larged and  embellished  from  year  to  year  ever  since.  When 
we  drove  up  to  the  grand  court,  it  was  so  formidably  filled 
with  cavalry  that  we  thought  the  predicted  insurrection  was 
imminent,  and  the  army  had  been  summoned  to  the  defence 
of  the  palace.  Not  at  all.  These  mounted  soldiers  are 
only  the  regular  guard.  In  this  inner  court,  or  square,  the 
cavalry,  in  long  line  and  fierce  array,  are  ready  for  a fight 
with  the  revolutionists,  if  they  are  brave  enough,  or  mad 
enough,  to  try  their  hands  in  a tussle  with  the  troops  of 
government,  trained  and  paid  to  defend  the  existing  order 
of  things.  From  the  windows  of  the  armory  this  martial 
parade  was  imposing,  though  there  were  but  a few  hun- 
dreds of  mounted  men.  The  officers  were  clad  in  polished 
steel  back  and  breast  plates,  which  flash  brightly  in  the 


PALACE. 


41 


sun.  The  uniform  is  brilliant,  and  the  riding  splendid. 
Artillery  companies,  with  cannon  mounted,  drawn  by 
horses,  manoeuvre  in  the  square,  crossing  and  recrossing 
constantly,  under  the  eye  of  the  royal  household.  A long 
line  of  lounging  people  look  on  also  ; and,  as  they  go  and 
come  all  day,  an  impression  is  certainly  insinuated  by  this 
military  parade  that  the  government  is  always  ready  to  take 
care  of  itself. 

The  palace  stands  on  the  verge  of  a height  that  com- 
mands a wide  and  exciting  view  of  the  plains  of  Castile. 
The  thought  of  what  those  plains  have  seen  in  the  last  two 
thousand  years  makes  them  of  more  than  romantic  interest 
to  one  who  takes  in  the  past  with  the  present.  What  suc- 
cessive tides  of  conquest  have  there  ebbed  and  flowed ! 
To  know  that  Charles  V.  and  Napoleon  and  Wellington 
have  followed  one  another  up  those  shaded  avenues  to  this 
summit,  with  their  legions,  is  enough  to  invest  them  with 
grandeur. 

And  here  in  this  armory  is  the  very  sword  that  Gonzalo, 
of  Cordova,  wore,  and  the  sword  with  which  Ferdinand,  the 
saint  and  hero,  smote  the  Moors  ; and  the  sword  of  Charles 
V.,  and  the  complete  suit  of  armor  which  the  great  emperor 
often  wore,  and  in  which  he  was  painted  by  Titian  ; and  the 
suit  of  armor  worn  by  Boabdil,  the  last  Moorish  king  who 
sat  on  the  throne  in  this  Alhambra,  and  who  left  it  behind, 
doubtless,  when  he  delivered  his  sword  into  the  hands  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  I 
am  writing.  We  had  thought  revolvers  a modern  invention, 
but  here  are  elegant  pistols,  on  the  same  principle,  used  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  now  as  good  as  new.  A 
crown,  a sword,  a helmet,  or  something  else,  illustrates  the 
life  of  all  the  heroes  of  Spanish  history ; and  the  number  of 
warlike  memorials  here  displayed  is  about  three  thousand. 
How  men  managed  to  fight  while  clad  from  head  to  foot  in 
these  suits  of  steel  armor  is  to  me,  a non-combatant,  one 


42 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


of  the  mysteries  of  the  art  of  war.  We  read  of  tourna- 
ments, and  — more  to  be  wondered  at  — of  battle-fields, 
where  all  the  knights  are  clothed  from  head  to  foot  in  the 
identical  garments  that  are  now  before  us,  or  in  others 
made  after  the  same  pattern  ; and  how,  with  such  a weight 
of  steel  and  so  constrained  in  the  freedom  of  action,  they 
could  manage  to  wield  their  swords  and  thrust  their  spears, 
I do  not  understand.  They  were  not  men  of  more  physical 
power  than  our  soldiers.  Some  of  them  were  less  than  the 
present  average  size  of  men.  But  they  were  mighty  men 
with  the  sword.  The  Toledo  blade  was  quite  equal  to  that 
of  Damascus ; and  the  helmet  was  often  insufficient  to  save 
the  brain,  when  the  sword,  in  a strong  hand,  came  down, 
cleaving  through  steel  and  skull. 

Two  or  three  hundred  horses  stood  in  the  stables ; and 
the  grooms  are  only  too  happy,  for  a consideration  to  be 
paid  at  every  door,  to  show  these  pampered  and  famous 
steeds.  Each  one  of  them  has  a name,  in  large  letters, 
over  his  head,  and  on  his  blanket.  Spain  has  some  cele- 
brated breeds  of  horses,  but,  like  every  thing  else  in  Spain, 
they  are  run  out,  and  the  stock  is  only  kept  up  by  importa- 
tion. It  is  so  even  with  the  Merino  sheep,  which  belongs 
to  Spain,  but  would  have  been  extinct  ere  this,  if  it  had  not 
been  perpetuated  and  improved  abroad.  You  may  see  five 
hundred  finer  horses  any  pleasant  afternoon  in  the  Central 
Park,  in  New  York,  than  any  one  of  these  pet  horses  of 
royalty.  But  you  will  never  see,  I hope,  such  a wealth 
and  folly  of  equipage  as  the  hundred  carriages,  and  more 
sets  of  harness,  and  plumes,  and  liveries,  and  coachmen’s 
hats,  and  velvet  saddles,  and  embroidered  hammer-cloths, 
which  fill  long  apartments,  and  are  shown  together  with  the 
gilded  chairs  of  state  in  which  the  king  or  queen  is  borne 
by  hand  in  processions,  and  the  chariot  on  which  the  royal 
personage  is  enthroned,  with  a canopy  overhead,  trumpeters 
below,  and  herald  angels  above,  for  the  coronation  parade. 


PALACE. 


43 


The  carriages  used  by  successive  monarchs  are  here  pre- 
served in  long  lines  of  antiquated  grandeur,  even  to  the  one 
in  which  Crazy  Jane,  the  widow,  carried  about  with  her  the 
corpse  of  her  handsome  husband,  Philip  the  First.  Queer 
woman  that  she  was,  jealous  to  insanity,  she  would  not  let 
her  husband  be  buried  while  she  lived ; and  now  she  lies  by 
his  side,  down  here  in  Granada,  in  the  cathedral,  and  her 
marble  effigy  gives  her  an  expression  so  gentle  and  loving, 
you  would  not  believe  she  was  ever  the  victim  of  the  fiercest 
and  meanest  passion  that  makes  hell  of  a woman’s  heart. 

I have  been  taking  you  with  me  through  the  palace  and 
armory  and  royal  stables,  to  give  you  a type  of  Spain.  The 
poorest  of  all  the  governments,  compared  with  its  popula- 
tion and  resources,  it  has  these  contrasts  of  wealth  and 
poverty  that  mark  its  want  of  judgment,  principle,  and 
power.  In  the  stables  is  invested  a capital  of  more  than 
half  a million  of  dollars  ! This  prodigality  is  royal,  but  also 
absurd.  The  people  see  it,  and  the  world  has  gone  by  the 
age,  when  gilt  trappings  and  gorgeous  pageants  struck  the 
multitudes  dumb  with  the  reverence  of  royal  glory. 

The  city  of  Madrid  is  well  built,  and  has  the  appearance 
of  a modern  French  town.  Indeed,  it  is  more  French  than 
Spanish  in  its  out-of-door  look,  and  the  French  language 
is  very  largely  spoken  in  the  shops  and  private  families  of 
culture.  The  intercourse  now  so  frequent  and  ready  with 
France  by  means  of  the  railway  and  telegraph,  and  the 
abolition  of  all  passport  regulations  and  annoyances,  have 
given  the  Spanish  capital  a start,  and  it  will  undoubtedly 
make  rapid  advancement. 

But  there  is  nothing  rapid  in  Spain  just  yet.  Opposite 
the  hotel  in  Madrid  where  I was  staying,  an  old  building 
had  been  torn  down  to  make  room  for  another.  Workmen 
were  engaged  in  removing  the  debris  to  renew  the  founda- 
tion. You  would  suppose  that  horses  and  carts,  or  wheel- 
barrows and  shovels,  would  be  in  use.  Such  modern 


44 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


improvements  had  not  reached  the  capital  of  Spain.  One 
man  with  a broad  hoe  hauled  the  dirt  into  a basket  made  of 
grass,  holding  half  a bushel ; another  man  took  the  basket 
and  carried  it  a rod  to  another  man,  who  handed  it  to 
another  a few  feet  above  him,  and  he  emptied  it  on  a pile 
of  dirt  up  there,  and  sent  the  basket  back  to  be  filled  again. 
And  so,  day  after  day,  a job  that  with  our  tools  and  appli- 
ances would  be  done  in  a few  hours,  was  here  spun  out  in- 
definitely. Yet  the  palaces  and  cathedrals  and  fortresses 
of  the  southern  climes  have  all  been  erected  at  this  snail's 
pace,  numbers  and  cheapness  making  up  for  enterprise  and 
force.  In  Paris,  in  the  street,  a small  steam-engine  was  at 
work  to  mix  mortar,  and  the  ease  with  which  the  process 
was  put  through  revealed  the  secret  of  the  wonderfully 
rapid  transformations  going  on  in  that  ever  increasingly 
beautiful  city.  Here  in  Spain,  to  this  day,  where  there  are 
smooth,  good  roads  for  wheels,  they  still  put  a couple  of 
baskets  across  the  back  of  a donkey,  and  fill  them  with  dirt 
or  brick  or  stones,  and  so  transport  them,  even  when  they 
are  putting  up  the  largest  buildings.  The  architecture  of 
Spain  is  more  imposing  than  that  of  any  other  country  in 
Europe.  It  is  the  climate  that  makes  men  differ  so  much 
in  their  physical  as  well  as  mental  manifestations. 

To  see  the  mode  of  doing  business  in  Spain,  take  the 
simple  story  of  one  day's  work  of  mine  in  getting  some 
money  in  Madrid.  Holding  a 44  letter  of  credit  ” which  is 
promptly  honored  in  any  part  of  the  world,  and  is  just  as 
good  for  the  gold  in  Cairo  or  Calcutta  as  it  is  in  London,  I 
went  in  search  of  a Spanish  banker  to  draw  a hundred 
pounds  sterling,  say  five  hundred  dollars.  Anastazio  led 
the  way,  and  soon  brought  us  to  the  house  where  the  man 
of  money  held  his  court.  Being  shown  up  stairs,  through 
two  or  three  passages  and  an  ante-chamber,  we  were  at 
length  ushered  into  the  presence.  Senor  Romero,  the 
banker,  was  a man  of  fifty,  dressed,  or  rather  undressed,  in 


BANK. 


45 


a loose  morning  gown  or  wrapper,  a red  cap  on  his  head, 
slippers  on  his  feet,  and  a pipe  in  his  mouth.  A clerk  was 
sitting  near  to  do  his  bidding.  I presented  my  letter.  It 
was  carefully  read,  first  by  the  clerk,  then  by  the  principal. 
A long  consultation  followed,  carried  on  in  a low  tone,  and 
in  Spanish,  quite  unintelligible  to  me,  if  it  had  been  audible. 
It  was  finally  determined  to  let  me  have  the  money,  and 
after  an  amount  of  palaver  sufficient  for  the  negotiation  of 
a government  loan  from  the  Rothschilds,  and  taking  the 
necessary  receipt  and  draft  from  me,  I was  presented  with 
a check  on  the  Bank  of  Spain.  When  I had  fancied  the 
delays  were  over,  they  had  only  just  begun.  The  bank  was 
in  a distant  part  of  the  city,  and  thither  we  hastened,  taking 
a cab,  to  save  all  the  time  we  could.  The  bank  is  a large 
and  imposing  edifice  of  white  stone.  In  the  vestibule  was  a 
guard  of  soldiers.  A porter  stopped  us  as  we  were  about 
to  enter  the  inner  door.  We  must  await  our  turn  as  some 
one  else  was  inside ! One  at  a time  was  the  rule.  Benches 
were  there,  and  we  sat  down,  admiring  silently  the  modera- 
tion of  banking  business  in  Spain.  At  length  our  turn 
came.  We  entered  a room  certainly  a hundred  feet  long. 
Tables  extended  the  whole  length.  Behind  them  sat  clerks 
very  busy  doing  nothing.  We  were  told  to  pass  on,  and  on, 
to  the  lower  end  of  the  room,  where  we  entered  another,  the 
back  parlor,  or  private  room  of  the  officers.  They  were 
closeted  out  of  sight,  smoking,  of  course,  and  giving  their 
wisdom  to  the  business  in  hand.  I presented  the  check  at 
a hole  out  of  which  a hand  was  put  to  take  it.  I saw  noth- 
ing more.  We  sat  down  and  waited.  Waiting  is  a Spanish 
institution.  Everybody  waits.  Nobody  gets  any  thing  with- 
out it.  We  waited,  and  waited,  and  waited,  and  at  last  the 
little  hole  opened  again,  the  mysterious  hand  was  thrust  out 

with  the money,  you  suppose ; not  a bit,  but  with  the 

check  approved.  We  must  present  it  at  the  table  or  counter 
for  payment.  Returning  to  the  long  room,  we  presented 


4 6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  check,  and  were  directed  to  the  proper  bureau.  And 
here,  of  course,  we  got  the  money.  Not  yet.  Bills  of  the 
Bank  of  Spain  were  given  us,  and  when  I required  the  gold, 
I was  told  that  gold  was  paid  only  at  the  bureau  of  the  bank 
in  another  street.  Thither  we  now  pursued  our  weary  way. 
It  was  a rear  entrance  of  the  same  bank  building.  A long 
line  of  gold  hunters  was  ahead  of  us.  We  stood  in  the  cue, 
and  at  last  were  inside.  In  the  ante-room  we  had  to  wait 
so  long  that  we  took  to  the  bench  again.  At  last,  admission 
being  granted,  we  were  told  that  only  one  could  be  admitted 
with  a single  draft.  We  sent  Antanazio  in,  and  returned  to 
the  door.  Here  we  were  told  that  no  exit,  only  entrance , 
was  allowed  at  the  rear ! Explaining  the  case,  we  got  out, 
and  returning  to  the  front,  patiently  as  possible,  we  looked 
for  the  appearance  of  Antanazio  loaded  with  gold.  At  last, 
for  the  longest  delay  has  an  end,  the  man  emerged  with  the 
money  in  his  hands.  It  had  cost  me  from  two  to  three 
hours  in  the  middle  of  the  day  to  draw  this  money,  which 
in  New  York,  London,  Paris,  or  any  city  out  of  Spain, 
would  have  cost  five  minutes  or  less.  And  I have  been  so 
particular  in  the  detail,  because  it  lets  you  into  the  mode  of 
doing  business  in  the  capital  city,  and  the  greatest  bank  of 
this  country. 

Until  the  French  and  English  companies  pushed  railways 
into  Spain,  travel  and  mails  were  on  the  slow-coach  system. 
When  the  royal  person  made  a journey,  it  was  like  the 
march  of  an  army,  such  was  the  retinue  required  for  comfort 
and  display.  And  as  the  railways  are  now  completed  only 
along  a few  great  routes,  the  mails  are  largely  carried  in  the 
diligences  and  coaches  expressly  made  for  the  purpose.  It 
is  said,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  disbelieve  it,  that  down  to 
the  year  1840,  when  a Spaniard  proposed  to  himself  the 
danger  and  toil  of  a journey,  it  was  his  invariable  custom  to 
summon  his  lawyer  and  make  his  will ; his  physician,  to 
learn  if  his  health  were  adequate  to  the  undertaking ; and 


POST-OFFICE. 


47 


finally  his  priest,  to  confess  his  sins  and  get  timely  absolu- 
tion. It  is  not  regarded  now  so  formidable  an  excursion  to 
go  across  the  kingdom,  but  the  native  travel  is  so  little  that 
the  railroads  are  very  unprofitable.  If  it  were  not  for  freight 
they  would  not  be  supported  at  all.  They  have,  however, 
greatly  increased  the  correspondence  of  the  country,  and 
the  rate  of  postage  has  been  reduced,  so  that  it  is  about  as 
low  as  in  other  European  countries.  But  the  government 
keeps  a sharp  look-out  upon  the  letters  that  come  and  go. 
In  times  when  conspiracies  are  snuffed  in  every  breeze,  it 
would  be  quite  unsafe  for  any  one  to  entrust  a secret  in  a 
letter  going  by  mail.  A government  spy  would  be  sure  to 
have  his  hand  on  it  and  his  eye  in  it,  before  it  reached  its 
address.  The  letters  in  the  post-office  at  Madrid  are  held 
four  hours  after  the  arrival  of  the  mail,  before  they  are 
ready  for  delivery.  The  mail  from  the  north,  the  London 
and  Paris  mail,  comes  in  at  ten  o’clock  a.m.  We  must  wait 
until  two  o’clock  p.m.  for  our  letters.  Then  a list  of  all  letters 
not  directed  to  some  particular  street  and  number,  or  to 
some  post-office  box,  is  posted  up  in  the  hall  of  the  office,  — 
an  alphabetical  list.  You  look  over  the  list,  and  if  you  find 
a letter  for  yourself,  you  ask  for  it  at  the  proper  window. 
If  you  are  a stranger,  your  passport  is  demanded.  But  you 
had  been  told  before  coming  to  Spain  that  no  passports  are 
required,  and  now  you  must  have  one  merely  to  get  your 
letters.  In  default  of  a passport,  you  must  in  some  way 
establish  your  identity.  This  is  not  always  easy  in  a foreign 
country,  but  then  nothing  is  easy  in  Spain.  I got  no  letter 
from  the  post-office  addressed  to  me  while  I was  in  Spain ! 
The  noted  rebel,  General  Prim,  was  a dreadful  bugbear  to 
the  authorities,  and  all  letters  addressed  to  me  were  sus- 
pected by  the  local  postmasters  to  be  intended  for  the 
General.  They  were  therefore  sent  to  the  government,  or 
otherwise  disposed  of.  No  efforts  to  recover  them  were 
successful.  Much  good  may  they  do  the  people  who  had 
to  read  them.  Some  of  them  had  hard  work,  I know. 


43 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Telegraphs  are  spreading  over  Spain,  as  they  are  over 
the  world,  civilized  or  not.  Spain  is  one  of  the  last  coun- 
tries where  they  could  become  popular ; but  the  business 
of  any  kingdom  that  has  relations  with  the  outside  world 
must  be  armed  with  the  telegraph,  or  it  cannot  hold  its  own. 
In  traversing  wild  and  secluded  parts  of  the  Peninsula,  I 
have  been  surprised  by  finding  the  telegraph  poles  set  up, 
and  the  wire  stretching  on,  over  hill  and  dale.  Spain  is 
slow,  and  the  telegraph  is  not  demanded  here  by  the  energy 
and  enterprise  of  the  people  as  it  is  elsewhere.  Despatches 
of  more  than  a hundred  words  are  not  sent.  To  or  from 
any  part  of  the  Peninsula  ten  words  may  be  sent  for  about 
twenty-five  cents,  twenty  words  for  fifty  cents,  thirty  words 
for  seventy-five  cents ; but  the  count  includes  each  word 
written  by  the  sender,  date,  address,  signature,  and  if  a 
word  is  underscored  it  counts  two.  Great  precautions  are 
taken  to  insure  accuracy  in  transmission,  and  a small  extra 
charge  is  made  for  delivery. 

Before  coming  to  Spain  I had  been  told  that  the  picture- 
gallery  in  Madrid  is  the  richest  in  the  world.  It  seemed  to 
me  an  idle  tale,  the  boast  of  boasting  Spaniards,  repeated 
until  perhaps  somebody  believed,  as  I certainly  did  not. 
But  having  seen  it,  day  after  day,  for  a week,  I cheerfully 
cast  a vote  in  its  favor.  It  is  superior  to  any  other  in 
Europe ; and,  of  course,  in  the  world.  It  is  not  complete 
in  the  series  of  art  studies.  There  are  gaps  of  time  which 
the  student  may  desire  to  see  filled.  But  there  are  few  who 
visit  these  great  European  galleries  as  learners.  The  world 
comes  to  see  them  for  the  momentary  pleasure  to  be  found 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  pictures.  And  they  will  be 
astonished  to  find  that  so  many  and  so  splendid  pictures 
have  been  gathered  and  preserved  in  the  Spanish  capital. 

The  gallery  is  open  to  the  public  only  on  Sundays , but 
the  director  allows  it  to  be  shown  every  day  to  strangers, 
who  are  expected  to  give  a fee  to  the  attendants.  On  rainy 
days  it  is  always  shut ; an  obvious  reason  is,  that  visitors 


PICTURE-GALLERY. 


49 


will  soil  the  floors  with  their  shoes,  but  a better  reason  is 
that  the  gallery  is  so  badly  lighted  that  in  gloomy  weather 
some  of  the  pictures  are  quite  invisible. 

Who  would  suppose  that  sixty  pictures  by  Reubens  are 
to  be  seen  in  one  gallery  in  Spain ! and  fifty-three  by 
Teniers ; and  ten  grand  pictures  by  Raphael ; and  forty-six 
by  Murillo  ; and  sixty-four  by  Velasquez,  some  of  them  very 
large  and  magnificent;  and  twenty-two  by  Van  Dyck;  and 
forty-three  of  Titian , who  spent  three  years  in  Madrid,  by 
invitation  of  Charles  V. ; ten  of  Claude  Lorraine ; and 
twenty-five  by  Paul  Veronese  ; and  twenty-three  by  Snyder; 
and  more  than  thirty  by  Tintoretto ! ! ! There  are  more 
than  two  thousand  here.  Among  so  many,  of  course,  some 
are  good  for  nothing,  as  in  every  large  collection.  But  one 
gallery  in  the  world  has  masterpieces  only,  — that  is  in  the 
Vatican.  And  there  you  have  less  than  a hundred  pictures, 
all  told.  But  they  are  all  great.  Here,  as  in  Florence  and 
Dresden,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent  have  been  hung  to- 
gether ; and  perhaps  the  contrast  makes  the  good  appear 
better,  and  the  bad  worse. 

Murillo,  the  greatest  of  Spanish  painters,  is  here  in  his 
glory.  We  have  associated  his  name  with  his  44  Immaculate 
Conceptions  ” more  than  with  any  other  of  his  works.  One 
copy  was  brought  to  America  a few  years  ago,  and  is  now 
in  the  gallery  of  W.  H.  Aspinwall,  Esq.  A duplicate  is  in 
the  Louvre,  at  Paris.  And  still  another  is  in  Madrid. 
These  are  three  originals,  undoubtedly,  and  they  have  been 
copied  in  every  style  of  human  art,  especially  in  Paris,  until 
they  are  as  common  as  heads  of  the  Saviour,  all  the  world 
over.  Yet  this  is  not  the  Murillo , — not  his  44  Conception.” 
It  is  a grand  conception  by  the  artist,  but  it  is  not  the  great 
picture  of  that  subject  on  which,  more  than  any  other,  his 
fame  is  founded.  This  is  in  another  attitude,  with  another 
expression ; the  Virgin  is  looking  downward,  and  not  gaz- 
ing, in  an  ecstasy,  heavenward.  The  artist,  in  this  picture, 

4 


50 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


imagines  the  Virgin  Mary  at  the  moment  she  becomes  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  by  the  overshadowing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  she  is  to  be  the  mother  of  the  Son  of  God ! The 
accessories  of  the  painting  are  of  no  account,  but  into  the 
countenance  of  the  Virgin  he  would  throw  the  expression 
such  as  a spotless  maiden  might  be  supposed  to  have  when 
first  alive  to  such  a wondrous,  awful,  yet  transporting  and 
delightful  thought,  “ I,  — I,  — of  all  the  daughters  of  Israel, 
am  the  highly  favored  among  women..  Of  me  is  to  be  the 
Messiah  ! I am  the  mother  of  the  promised  Saviour ! ” 

Not  far  from  this  is  a picture  of  the  Vision  of  St.  Bernard, 
exhibiting  marvellous  skill.  The  head  is  one  of  those 
prodigies  of  the  painter’s  art,  that  is  to  haunt  the  memory 
in  after  years.  Like  the  u Communion  of  St.  Jerome,”  in 
the  Vatican,  to  see  it  is  to  have  it  photographed  in  the 
mysterious  chamber  of  the  brain.  Raphael  painted  one  of 
his  most  remarkable  pictures,  “ The  Christ  sinking  under 
His  Cross,”  for  a convent  in  Sicily.  It  is  said  by  some  to  be 
a greater  work  than  the  “ Transfiguration,”  which  is  held  to 
be  the  finest  picture  existing.  To  me,  this  in  Madrid  is 
the  most  impressive,  the  most  nearly  perfect.  It  is  taken 
at  the  moment  when  Simon,  the  Cyrenian,  attempts  to  lift 
the  crushing  cross,  while  the  patient  sufferer,  with  a face 
radiant  with  love  and  holy  resignation,  says  to  the  weeping 
women  near,  “ Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me 
but  weep  for  yourselves  and  for  your  children.” 

Titian’s  equestrian  portrait  of  Charles  V.  is  sublime,  — 
like  a majestic  mountain,  or  a mighty  rock  in  a desert. 
The  solemn  grandeur  of  the  picture  is  indescribable.  The 
man  and  his  times,  a whole  volume  of  biography  and  his- 
tory, on  one  grand  tableau,  seen  and  remembered.  Perhaps 
it  would  be  as  well  to  forget  the  women  that  Titian  seems 
to  have  been  fond  of  painting.  Two  of  them  here  are  not 
less  perfect,  many  think  they  are  more  perfect,  than  the 
Venus  of  the  Tribune.  In  other  times  the  zealous  priest- 


PICTURE-GALLERY. 


51 


hood  condemned  these  nudities  to  the  flames,  with  heretics, 
as  corrupters  of  the  people ; but  some  have  been  saved. 

The  picture  that  I desired  more  than  any  other  to  carry 
away  and  cherish  as  a life-long  treasure,  is  one  by  Cor- 
reggio. After  his  resurrection  the  Saviour  appeared  to 
Mary,  and  she  supposed  it  was  the  gardener;  but  Jesus, 
turning,  said  to  her,  “Mary,” — and  the  truth  burst  upon 
her,  it  was  her  Lord ! That  moment  of  transport  is  the 
time  the  artist  has  seized  for  the  representation  of  the 
kneeling  and  rejoicing  Mary  and  Jesus.  The  love  and 
tenderness  in  his  look,  the  joy  and  reverence  in  hers ! 
What  beauty,  too : how  the  yellow  hair  falls  in  living  lustre 
on  her  fair  shoulders,  and  her  eyes  speak  the  full  expres- 
sion of  her  yearning  soul.  “ Jesus  said  unto  her,  4 Mary.’  ” 

In  another  hall  I found  a picture  of  great  merit,  unmen- 
tioned by  the  guide-book,  and  by  a painter  unknown  to  me 
even  by  name  before.  It  is  a Virgin  and  Child,  with  four 
venerable  saints  kneeling  before  them.  The  artist  is  Bias 
del  Prado.  Few  pictures  in  any  gallery  deserve  more  admi- 
ration than  this.  The  heads  of  the  old  men  are  done  with 
great  power,  and  the  thoughtful  feeling  in  the  face  of  the 
Virgin  shows  that  the  artist  had  both  the  genius  to  con- 
ceive, and  the  skill  to  create,  an  idea  on  the  canvas,  quite 
equal  to  the  best  of  many  others  who  have  won  a world- 
wide fame.  And  scattered  through  these  long  apartments, 
in  narrow  halls  and  basement  rooms,  in  bad  lights,  and 
some  almost  in  the  dark,  are  many  gems  of  rare  value, 
“ blushing  unseen,”  and  worth  a better  place,  and  deserv- 
ing wider  renown.  It  would  be  tedious  to  read  even  a brief 
mention  of  the  celebrated  pictures  of  the  famous  old  masters 
here,  and  that  form  so  large  a part  of  the  attractions  of 
Europe. 

There  are  very  few  minor  galleries  in  Madrid.  Probably 
there  has  been  a lack  both  of  private  wealth  and  taste  to 
make  collections.  In  one  of  these  we  found  Murillo’s 


52 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


“ Queen  Isabel  of  Hungary  healing  the  Lepers,”  a picture 
that  would  be  admired  as  one  of  his  greatest  and  best,  if  it 
were  not  so  true  to  life  as  to  make  one  almost  sick  to  look 
at  it.  But  this  is  the  height  of  the  highest  art.  Birds  have 
been  deceived  by  painted  fruit.  Bees  have  sought  honey  in 
flowers  on  the  walls.  And  perhaps  this  cheating  of  the 
senses,  even  to  disgust,  is  the  perfection  of  human  skill. 
But  the  imitation  of  the  material  is  easy.  If  portrait  paint- 
ing were  merely  the  reproduction  of  the  form  and  features, 
it  is  the  lowest  department  of  the  art.  But  to  conceive 
the  expression  that  belongs  to  the  character  of  a saint,  a 
prophet,  a hero,  a sibyl,  a Madonna,  and  thus  to  create  an 
ideal  that  will  demonstrate  its  reality  and  truthfulness  to  an 
unbelieving  or  indifferent  world,  challenging  admiration 
and  asserting  its  own  immortality,  this  is  the  attribute  of 
genius  only,  and  such  is  not  the  birth  of  every  day  or  age. 


TOLEDO. 


53 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TOLEDO  — ITS  FLEAS,  LANDLORDS,  ANTIQUITIES,  AND 

LUNATICS. 

TGNORANT  of  the  state  of  civilization  in  the  ancient 
city  of  Toledo,  the  capital  of  Gothic  Spain,  the  glory 
of  the  Jews  and  the  Moors  when  they  lived  luxuriously  on 
its  airy  heights,  we  had  imagined  it  easy  enough  to  find 
lodgings  for  a night.  Unconscious  of  the  fate  awaiting 
us,  we  put  up  at  the  Hotel  Lino,  the  largest  and  best  in 
the  city  ; and  here  we  sought  sleep.  The  search  was  vain. 
For  the  fleas  are  always  going  about  seeking  whom  they 
may  devour.  We  fell  a prey  to  them  and  to  the  landlords 
too.  Surviving  the  bloody  night,  we  left  a weary,  wretched 
bed  at  eight  in  the  morning,  and  ordered  breakfast  with 
coffee.  At  nine  it  was  announced  as  ready.  In  the  room 
where  it  was  served  three  waiters  attended  us,  each  one 
smoking  a cigar  in  our  faces,  as  we  sat  and  they  stood 
around.  The  coffee  was  not  on  the  table.  On  asking  for 
it  we  were  told  there  was  none  in  the  house. 

44  And  is  there  none  in  Toledo  ? ” 

44  Perhaps  so.” 

44  Well,  we  will  wait  until  you  bring  it.  Give  us  some 
butter.” 

“ There  is  no  butter  in  the  house.” 

44  Is  there  none  in  Toledo  ? ” 

44  None  that  is  fit  to  eat ; it  is  all  rancid.” 

After  a time  some  wretched  stuff  for  coffee  was  brought 
from  a restaurant,  and  we  made  a breakfast,  paid  as  much 


TOLEDO. 


TOLEDO. 


55 


for  it  as  if  we  had  been  in  Paris,  and  left  the  house  in  dis- 
gust. 

The  city  stands  on  a hill ; it  is  up,  up,  up,  in  a succession 
of  narrow,  irregular,  crooked,  clean,  and  curious  streets, 
showing  at  every  step  the  vestiges  of  successive  stages  of 
civilization,  and  often  suddenly  revealing  monuments  of 
departed  peoples  that  arrest  the  attention  and  excite  won- 
dering interest.  The  Goths  succeeded  the  Romans.  The 
Moors  drove  out  the  Goths,  and,  like  eagles  perched  among 
these  rocks,  defied  the  storms  of  centuries.  Here  the 
master  of  empires,  the  great  Charles  V.,  reigned  in  gran- 
deur, and  gave  laws  to  the  world.  It  is  a fitting  place  for 
such  a history  as  it  has ; *and  no  other  city  has  a more 
romantic  life.  Indeed,  romance  has  done  so  much  to 
embellish  the  story  of  Toledo,  it  is  difficult  to  be  in  it,  and 
study  it  here  on  its  own  rocks,  without  asking  for  its 
enchanted  towers,  and  haunted  caves,  and  knights,  with 
magic  swords  and  spectre  horses,  and  its  200,000  mighty 
men  and  beautiful  women,  that  once  made  this  castle- 
crowned  crag  the  glory  of  Spain,  and  as  famous  in  the 
earth  as  Babylon  or  Damascus. 

It  is  more  Oriental  in  its  appearance  than  any  city  we 
have  yet  seen  in  Spain.  But  it  is  too  far  north,  and  too 
far  up  in  the  air,  to  be  adapted  to  the  life  of  Orientals.  Its 
houses  are  usually  low;  and  they  have  the  court  in  the 
midst  of  them,  out  of  which  doors  open  into  the  several 
apartments.  Many  of  them  are  very  old,  five  hundred 
years,  at  least,  and  repetitions  of  those  that  stood  on  the 
same  site  before ; for  this  reproduction  of  itself,  from  age 
to  age,  is  a feature  of  the  peoples  and  climes  with  which 
Scripture  history  has  made  us  familiar.  Many  of  these  old 
houses  are  fine  specimens  of  the  Moorish  manner  of  build- 
ing; but  with  this,  perhaps  the  predominant  style,  is 
blended  more  or  less  of  the  Roman,  the  Gothic, . and  the 
Saracenic,  and  every  style  except  the  modern ; for  Toledo 


56 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


is  a city  of  the  dead  past,  and  no  resurrection  is  before  it. 
The  Spanish  chroniclers  claim  that  Toledo  was  founded  at 
the  same  time  with  the  creation  of  the  world,  but  who  lived 
in  it  before  the  human  race  was  made  they  do  not  help  us 
to  understand.  Others  less  ambitious  find  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and  others  that  Hercules,  laid  the  first  stones. 

The  last  of  the  Goths  who  sat  on  the  throne  of  Toledo 
was  Roderick.  And  when  weighed  down  with  the  guilt  of 
a seducer  and  a betrayer  of  his  friend,  he  went  forth  from 
Toledo  in  his  chariot  of  ivory,  and,  with  his  mailed  legions, 
marched  to  the  banks  of  the  Guadalquiver,  and  at  Guadalete 
encountered  the  flood  of  Moorish  barbarism  just  then  set- 
ting in  upon  Spain,  he  disappeared,  the  city  began  its 
downward  career,  and  no  emperors,  no  bishops,  no  kings, 
have  since  been  able  to  purge  it  from  the  sin  and  the  shame 
of  the  perfidious  Roderick. 

In  after  centuries,  when  the  Moors  were  expelled  and  the 
cross  again  supplanted  the  crescent,  the  archbishops  of 
Toledo  were  more  than  kings,  and  lived  here  in  luxury,  and 
wealth,  and  grandeur,  without  a parallel  in  the  history  of 
the  church.  Great  patrons  of  art  and  science,  they  founded 
universities  and  cultivated  the  arts  of  peace,  while  they 
were  often  plunging  the  country  into  war,  which  they 
waged  with  valor  and  skill.  Under  them  the  city  reached 
a degree  of  splendor  unsurpassed  in  the  dreamy  reign  of 
Oriental  voluptuousness  and  taste.  But  when  it  succumbed, 
as  it  did  to  the  great  German  Czar,  and  the  court  was 
removed  to  Valladolid,  its  sun  went  down,  never  to  rise 
again. 

The  cathedral  is  a glory,  even  in  Spain,  which  is  richer 
in  cathedrals  than  any  other  country.  Toledo  has  always 
been  favored  by  the  Romish  Church.  It  is  believed  by 
many  that  the  Virgin  Mary  came  down  from  heaven,  in 
person,  to  attend  the  investiture  of  one  of  its  archbishops, 
and  there  is  not  to  be  found  a grander  and  more  beautiful 


TOLEDO. 


57 


Gothic  temple  than  this.  As  we  entered  it  the  dim  light 
that  was  chasing  away  the  shades  from  among  the  vast 
columns  and  the  lofty  arches  gradually  brightened  as  we 
became  more  accustomed  to  it,  and  a sense  of  majestic  pro- 
portions and  solemn  grandeur  took  possession  of  the  soul. 
A service  was  in  progress,  and  we  paused  till  it  was  con- 
cluded, for  it  matters  not  what  the  form  of  religious  worship, 
and  however  much  our  views  may  differ  from  those  engaged 
in  it,  it  is  unseemly  to  be  gazing  at  the  temple  while  its 
ministers  are  serving  at  its  altar.  In  the  midst  of  the  ser- 
vice a priest  was  receiving  a young  woman’s  confession. 
As  she  put  up  her  lips  to  his  ear  to  whisper  her  penitential 
words,  she  beat  upon  her  breast  with  one  hand,  as  if  she 
were  in  agony  of  soul.  Her  tale  of  sin  completed,  she  rose 
from  her  knees,  bowed  low  again,  kissed  her  confessor’s 
extended  hand,  and  went  away. 

Toledo  and  its  priesthood  have  been  famous  for  their 
devotion  to  the  strictest  orders  and  dogmas  of  the  church, 
till  Rome  itself  scarcely  stands  higher  for  holiness  and 
orthodoxy.  In  the  disputes  that  have  at  different  times 
agitated  the  Romish  communion,  they  have  not  been  afraid 
to  appeal  directly  to  the  judgment  of  God,  and  to  claim  his 
verdict  in  their  favor.  In  the  great  contest  about  the  proper 
form  of  words  in  the  mass,  when  the  old  missals  were  used 
in  Spain,  in  spite  of  the  orders  to  substitute  the  Gregorian 
mass,  or  the  Roman  improved  form,  the  first  appeal  to  the 
divine  judgment  was  in  favor  of  Toledo,  and  the  early  mis- 
sals. Again  the  trial  was  demanded  ; and  the  old  and  newer 
missals  were  brought  out,  great  folio  volumes,  into  one  of 
the  public  squares,  and,  in  presence  of  the  city,  fire  was 
applied  to  them.  The  older  was  burnt  to  ashes,  and  the 
newer  survived  the  ordeal.  Toledo  was  not  willing  to  abide 
even  by  this  very  conclusive  test,  and  finally  it  was  settled 
by  blending  the  two  masses  into  one. 

Their  richest  and  most  sacred  chapel  in  the  cathedral  is 


58 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  Muzarabe,  or  Mixed  Arabic  ; so  called  because  it  was 
built  to  preserve  the  forms  of  the  old  Gothic  service,  such 
as  was  used  when  the  Goths  consented  to  live  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Moors  while  allowed  their  own  religious 
rites.  In  this  cathedral  lie  the  ashes,  and  over  them  are 
the  tombs  of  some  of  the  early  kings  of  Spain,  and  several 
of  those  grand  archbishops  whose  reign  was  not  less  kingly 
than  that  of  kings.  Cardinal  Albornoz  died  in  Italy,  and 
the  Pope  sent  his  body  home  to  be  buried  here.  To  save 
the  expense  of  transportation,  for  there  was  no  express 
company,  not  even  a steamboat  then  ( 1 364)  to  bring  it,  — 
Urban  V.  issued  a decree  granting  a.  plenary  indulgence  to 
all  who  would  lend  a hand  in  carrying  the  dead  cardinal  on 
his  long  journey.  Gladly  did  the  poor  peasantry  bear  the 
body  on  their  shoulders  from  one  town  to  another  till  it 
reached  Toledo.  In  front  of  one  of  the  chapels  I was  sud- 
denly arrested  by  a strange  Latin  inscription  in  a brass 
plate  in  the  pavement.  It  was  in  these  words  : — 

44  Hie  JACET  PULVIS,  CINIS,  NULLUS.” 

Here  lies  dust , ashes , nothing  else.  Over  the  bones  of 
one  of  the  most  powerful  cardinals  who  ever  reigned  in 
Spain,  and  himself  called  a king  maker,  the  epitaph  is 
eloquent : perhaps  an  affectation,  however,  of  humility,  a 
virtue  for  which  Fernandez  de  Portocarrero  was  not  illus- 
trious in  his  life. 

The  Virgin  Mary  has  been  pleased  to  come,  from  heaven 
to  this  cathedral,  as  I have  said,  and  if  any  one  doubts  it, 
he  can  see  the  very  stone  on  which  she  first  set  foot  as  she 
alighted  from  her  aerial  excursion.  And  now  the  faithful 
kiss  this  precious  stone,  touching  with  their  loving  lips  the 
very  spot  which  her  foot  once  pressed.  Her  image  is  clad 
with  gold  and  precious  stones  and  costly  raiment,  crowns 
and  bracelets  and  chains,  the  gifts  of  royal  hands,  and  the 
greatest  ladies  of  the  kingdom  are  her  maids  of  honor.  On 


TOLEDO. 


59 


gala-days  she  is  borne  in  state  through  the  streets,  and 
honors  are  paid  to  her  at  every  step,  as  the  Oueen  of 
Queens. 

A sleepy  old  porter  let  us  into  the  Alcazar.  Al-casa- 
czar  is  the  house  of  Caesar,  or  the  czar’s  house,  the  king’s 
house,  the  palace. 


The  Alcazar. 

The  palace,  or  what  was  once  a palace,  crowns  the  sum- 
mit  of  the  hill  on  which  the  old  city  of  Toledo  stands. 
Around  the  base  of  the  rock  below  the  Tagus  rushes 
rapidly,  and  away  in  every  direction  stretches  the  wide 
plain,  gloomy,  desolate,  and  yet  grand  in  its  storied  past. 
It  is  not  certain  that  the  Moorish,  still  less  certain  that  the 


6o 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Gothic  kings  preceding  them,  had  their  royal  residence  on 
this  bleak  height.  But  the  Catholic  kings  for  centuries 
held  their  courts  on  this  spot,  and  the  prints  of  their  hands 
are  visible  everywhere.  The  porter  who  opened  the  door 
for  us  is  a model  of  a Spanish  official.  Too  proud  to  be  a 
door-keeper,  and,  with  nothing  else  to  do,  he  would  impress 
even  a stranger  with  the  idea  that  he  was  born  with  a 
higher  destiny  than  to  tend  a gate.  It  was  a pleasure  to 
him,  evidently,  to  tell  us  we  must  not  go  here,  nor  there, 
nor  anywhere,  except  where  it  was  of  no  use  to  go  ; and 
the  scanty  information  he  was  willing  to  impart  was  ex- 
tracted with  difficulty,  and  worth  nothing  then. 

We  stood  in  the  midst  of  a spacious  square,  the  patio,  or 
court,  and  on  its  four  sides  rose  the  walls  of  the  ancient 
palace.  Charles  V.  and  Philip  II.  rebuilt  the  most  of  it  on 
the  ruins  holding  some  of  the  apartments  that  date  as  far 
back  as  Alonzo  X. ; and  in  modern  times  the  hoof  of  the 
war  demon  has  trodden  the  stairways  and  galleries  and 
gorgeous  halls,  until  what  with  English  and  French  sol- 
diery, and  some  of  other  nations  more  barbarous  still,  the 
Alcazar  of  Toledo  is  a more  comfortable  residence  for  bats 
and  owls  than  kings  and  fair  princesses.  Two  or  three 
proud  peacocks  were  strutting  in  the  warm  sunshine  of  the 
patio,  displaying  their  gaudy  plumes  and  arching  their 
graceful  necks,  reminding  us  of  other  beauties  who  had 
often  gone  blazing  through  these  doors,  with  radiant  jewels 
and  shining  robes,  yet,  in  all  their  glory,  were  not  arrayed 
like  one  of  these.  This  patio  shows,  on  its  four  sides,  two 
rows  of  galleries,  one  over  the  other,  supported  each  of 
them  by  thirty  arches,  with  columns  crowned  with  Corin- 
thian capitals,  embellished  with  the  arms  of  the  many 
kingdoms  that  Charles  V.  had  conquered.  A staircase, 
designed  by  Philip  II.  while  he  was  in  England,  and  built 
under  orders  sent  by  him  while  there,  leads  up  to  the  royal 
apartments,  long  since  deserted,  and  now  worth  seeing  only 


TOLEDO. 


6 1 


because  they  were  once  the  home  of  men  and  women 
whose  names  are  part  of  the  history  of  the  world. 

An  English  gentleman  said  to  me  in  the  rail-car  in 
Spain  one  day,  “ I should  be  glad  to  have  you  tell  me 
what  it  is  that  impresses  you  the  most  in  coming  from 
America  and  travelling  in  Europe.”  I answered  that  it 
required  some  time  to  make  a fitting  reply  to  so  great  an 
inquiry.  “ Well,”  he  said,  “ will  you  take  fifteen  minutes 
to  think,  and  then  give  me  the  result  ? ” I replied,  u I am 
ready  to  answer  now : what  impresses  me  more  than  all 
else  is,  that  these  old  countries,  having  been  what  they 
once  were,  are  what  I find  them  notv .” 

It  is  the  law  of  the  earth,  I suppose,  and  what  has  been 
will  be,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  time. 

We  left  the  melancholy  palace  to  its  porter,  its  peacocks, 
and  the  bats,  and  wound  our  way  down  and  around  the 
corkscrew  streets,  narrow,  close,  and  dirty,  admiring  the 
ancient  Moorish  gates  and  doors,  studded  with  iron  balls. 
The  older  doors  have  two  knockers,  one  high  for  a horse- 
man to  use  without  dismounting ; and,  the  gate  being 
opened,  he  would  ride  right  into  the  court.  We  were  look- 
ing for  the  Church  of  San  Juan  de  los  Reyes,  and  soon 
found  it,  a church  that  dates  back  to  the  Moorish-Gothic 
period,  or  the  time  when  the  severity  of  Gothic  grandeur 
was  adorned  with  the  more  florid  embellishments  which 
Moorish  art  introduced  into  Spain.  On  the  outer  walls  are 
suspended  the  massive  iron  chains  which  were  found  on 
the  limbs  of  the  Christian  captives  when  Granada  was 
conquered  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella;  and  the  rescued 
prisoners  hung  up  their  chains  on  this  church  as  thank- 
offerings.  And  still  farther  down  the  hill  we  come  to  the 
Bridge  of  St.  Martin,  and  here  are  plainly  the  ruins  of 
the  old  Moorish  castle  and  palace.  A square  tower  on 
the  water’s  edge  bears  the  name,  to  this  day,  Florinde , and 
tradition  says  it  was  here  that  Roderick  unluckily  saw  her 


62 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


while  she  was  bathing.  The  rest  of  the  story  we  have 
hinted  at  already. 

Irving,  in  his  bewitching  Spanish  tales,  gives  a marvel- 
lous account  of  the  Cave  of  Hercules,  which  is  said  to 
extend  three  leagues  beyond  the  river,  and  is  full  of 
chapels  and  genii  and  enchanted  warriors.  To  visit  it 
has  cost  kings  their  crowns ; and  the  terrible  sounds  that 
are  heard,  and  the  rushing  winds  assailing  the  bold  ex- 
plorer, make  the  attempt  too  formidable  for  modern  valor. 
The  entrance  is  from  the  Church  de  San  Gines,  but  is  now 
walled  up.  In  fact,  it  was  never  unwalled,  except  in  the 
fancies  of  romantic  historians. 

One  day,  long  time  ago,  as  the  Cid  was  riding  through 
Toledo,  his  horse  stopped  suddenly,  and  knelt  before  a wall 
built  against  a bank  of  earth.  The  hill  was  opened,  and 
within  was  found  a niche,  and  in  the  niche  an  image  of  the 
Saviour,  with  the  same  lamps  burning  in  it  which  the  Goths 
had  put  there  long  centuries  agone.  A Moorish  mosque  is 
standing  opposite,  which  has  been  converted  into  a Chris- 
tian church,  and  in  it  the  first  mass  was  celebrated  in  1805. 
It  takes  its  name  from  the  legend  of  the  Cid,  and  is  called 
Christo  de  la  Luz.  It  is  perhaps  the  smallest  church  in 
Toledo,  only  twenty-two  feet  square,  yet  the  quaintest  and 
most  curious  thing  to  be  found  in  the  city ; short  columns 
support  arches  in  the  shape  of  a horse-shoe,  and  three  narrow 
naves,  crossing  each  other,  cut  up  the  church  into  nine 
vaults.  There  is  nothing  in  it  worth  seeing. 

It  took  us  half  an  hour  to  find  the  sacristan  to  open  the 
door  of  Santo  Tome,  or  St.  Thomas,  where  we  went  to  see 
a famous  picture  by  El  Grecco,  a burial  scene,  of  consider- 
able power,  and  were  it  not  that  Spain  has  hundreds  of 
finer  pictures  than  this,  it  would  be  worth  the  time  it  cost 
us  to  see  it. 

Passing  through  the  Zodocover,  the  largest  public  square 
in  the  city,  where  in  the  “ good  old  times  ” of  torture  for 


TOLEDO. 


63 


the  church,  the  poor  unbelievers  in  papal  faith  have  been 
made  spectacles  before  the  world,  I met  a boy  with  a pop- 
gun, anxious  to  show  his  skill  in  shooting  with  that  formi- 
dable weapon.  Yielding  to  his  urgent  desires,  I set  up  a 
bit  of  money  which  he  was  to  hit  and  take.  A dense 
crowd,  a hundred  certainly,  were  the  idle  gazers  on  this 
ridiculous  scene,  forming  a ring  around  me  and  the  boy  ! 
I confess  to  a sense  of  great  amusement  when  I stood 
where  cardinals  and  bishops  and  priests,  with  armed 
soldiers  and  executioners,  had  burnt  heretics  in  sight  of 
kings,  and  multitudes  thronging  the  tiers  of  balconies  that 
look  down  into  this  square.  It  was  certainly  more  human, 
not  to  say  Christian,  for  me  to  divert  this  idle  crowd  by 
setting  up  coppers  for  a boy  to  shoot  at  with  a pop-gun, 
than  for  my  illustrious  predecessors  to  entertain  the  popu- 
lace of  Toledo  with  the  sight  of  martyrs  burning  at  a stake. 

Tired  of  walking,  for  Toledo  is  so  up-and-down,  that  you 
might  as  well  ride  on  a ladder,  we  entered  a caf6  for  refresh- 
ments. In  the  wide,  open  court  was  a deep  well  sunk  into 
the  solid  rock  on  which  the  city  stands,  and  the  water 
thereof  was  as  cool  and  sparkling  and  delicious  as  that 
which  the  woman  of  Samaria  gave  to  him  who  told  her  all 
things  that  ever  she  did.  The  saloon  was  fifty  feet  long  or 
more,  filled  with  marble-top  tables,  and  men  were  eating 
and  drinking,  playing  dominoes,  and  smoking.  It  was 
toward  the  close  of  the  day.  Of  all  the  people  there,  none 
called  for  spirits,  scarcely  any  asked  for  wine.  Coffee  and 
chocolate  were  the  principal  drinks.  There  was  no  noise, 
no  gambling.  It  was  chilly,  and  the  servant  brought  in  a 
brazier  filled  with  live  coals,  and  set  it  near  us.  Others 
drew  around  it,  as  they  did  in  the  high  priest’s  court-yard 
when  Peter  denied  his  Lord.  Many  Oriental  customs 
brought  in  by  the  Moors  are  still  retained  in  Spain.  I 
made  an  excuse  for  wandering  up  to  the  house-top,  and 
found  the  houses  so  closely  built  against  each  other,  with 


64 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


no  intervening  spaces,  that  you  could  easily  look  into  your 
neighbor’s,  and  sometimes  see  what  was  quite  as  well  not 
seen. 

While  here  we  looked  about  for  some  specimens  of  the 
famous  blades,  which  have  made  Toledo  as  celebrated  as 
Damascus  itself  in  this  line.  But  we  found  nothing  worth 
seeing.  The  manufactory  of  arms  is  outside  of  the  town, 
and  has  no  reputation  beyond  that  of  others  in  Spain. 
England  or  Connecticut  will  furnish  as  perfect  a sword 
to-day  as  Toledo.  Yet  this  is  only  another,  and  a very 
striking  illustration  of  what  Spain  is,  compared  with  what 
Spain  was.  As  far  back  as  under  the  Romans,  Toledo  had 
a character  for  the  perfection  of  its  weapons  of  steel.  The 
Toledo  blade  has  been  a proverb  for  temper  ever  since. 

The  idea  has  prevailed,  and  the  workers  in  metals  in 
Toledo  have  not  been  unwilling  to  encourage  it,  that  the 
waters  of  the  river  Tagus  have  virtues  to  impart  peculiar 
firmness  to  the  steel  that  is  cooled  in  them.  The  manu- 
facturers, of  course,  have  long  been  constituted  into  a guild, 
or  corporation,  and  the  secrets  of  the  trade  preserved  with 
care.  So  long  ago  as  in  the  ninth  century  Abdur-rhaman 
II.  gave  a great  impulse  to  the  art  in  Toledo,  and  its  fame 
was  spread  still  wider.  A thousand  years  have  rolled  away 
since  that  time,  and  now,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  they 
do  not  make  as  good  weapons  as  they  did  then. 

In  the  museum  at  Madrid  we  saw  the  splendid  swords 
which  the  famous  warriors  of  Spain  have  worn,  and,  in  the 
saloon  of  the  Director  of  the  Generaliffe,  in  Granada,  the 
identical  sword  of  Boabdil,  the  last  of  the  Moorish  kings  ; 
but  they  make  no  such  steel  now.  Indeed,  the  steel  they 
use  is  imported  from  England,  just  as  they  keep  up  the 
stock  of  horses  and  cattle  and  sheep,  by  importations 
from  other  countries.  It  is  very  probable  that  long,  thin 
blades,  that  may  be  curled  up  like  a ribbon,  can  be  produced 
in  China,  or  Persia,  or  Sheffield,  as  well  as  here.  The  men 


LUNATICS. 


65 


of  Milan  and  Florence  made  as  good  swords  as  these.  The 
use  of  fire-arms  naturally  diminishes  the  value  of  a sword 
as  a weapon  of  war. 

Spanish  people  do  not  go  crazy  ! Now  and  then  there 
is  a lunatic  in  Spain,  but,  as  compared  with  the  United 
States,  or  England,  or  France,  the  Spanish  people  manage 
to  keep  what  wits  they  have.  Just  outside  of  Toledo  there 
is  a lunatic  asylum.  It  is  the  successor  of  the  one  that 
Don  Quixote  ought  to  have  been  kept  in,  and  which  is 
mentioned  in  that  knight-errant’s  biography,  the  first  work 
of  fiction  that  I ever  perused,  and  which  then,  in  childhood, 
fired  me  with  a desire  to  visit  Spain.  Don  Quixote  was 
crazy ; and  there  may  be  thousands  crazy  whom  the  world 
do  not  reckon  so. 

In  London  the  latest  tables  show  that  one  person  in 
every  200  is  insane.  In  Paris  one  in  every  222  is  in  a lun- 
atic asylum,  or  ought  to  be.  In  Madrid,  the  capital  of 
Spain,  only  one  in  every  3,350.  In  the  year  i860  there 
were  2,384  lunatics  in  Spain,  when  the  population  was 
1 5,673,48 1 ; and  this  would  show  one  insane  person  to 
6,566  inhabitants.  In  1864  there  were  3,818  persons  in 
houses  for  the  insane,  but  they  do  not  regulate  these  insti- 
tutions with  the  same  strictness  that  prevails  in  some  other 
countries,  and  they  confine  in  them  many  of  those  criminals 
who  would  otherwise  be  let  loose  on  the  community  to 
pursue  their  career  of  crime  under  the  cloak  of  monomania. 
It  would  therefore  appear,  and  there  is  no  good  reason  to 
doubt  the  fact,  that  comparatively  little  insanity  exists  in 
Spain.  One  report  of  1861  gives  the  following  as  the 
percentage  of  the  cases,  when  pathologically  classified : 
“ Maniac  exaltation,  31.91 ; monomaniacs,  11;  melancholy, 
6;  derangement  of  mental  faculties,  20.53;  imbecility, 
6.15;  epileptic  madness,  n;  undetermined,  10.41.” 

The  medical  faculty  will  understand  this  classification, 
but  I do  not  know  the  difference  between  some  of  the 


5 


66 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


sections  into  which  the  victims  are  thus  divided.  But 
when  we  come  to  the  proximate  causes  of  insanity,  we  are 
in  a region  level  to  the  uninstructed  mind,  and  here  we 
find  that  moral  and  mental  excitements  growing  out  of  love, 
such  as  jealousy  and  disappointment,  are  prolific  causes  : 
that  physical  ailments  badly  attended  or  wholly  neglected 
frequently  result  in  derangement ; and  the  political  tur- 
moils of  the  State  are  followed  by  the  same  effects.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  are  at  least  three  common  causes 
of  insanity  in  the  United  States,  and  probably  in  England 
also,  that  have  a limited,  if  any,  influence  in  Spain.  These 
are  religious  excitements,  haste  to  be  rich,  and  intemper- 
ance in  drinking.  In  Spain  they  take  things  easily.  The 
people  do  not  work  the  brain  unduly  in  matters  of  religion 
or  trade.  The  church  takes  care  of  the  souls  of  the  people : 
the  law  or  the  government  excludes  all  disturbing  elements 
that  might  come  from  the  efforts  of  others  to  proselyte  the 
people,  and  in  their  ignorance  of  any  other  way  of  getting 
to  heaven  than  the  church  teaches  them,  they  are  quiet 
on  that  subject.  Religion  never  made  any  one  crazy; 
on  the  contrary,  it  has  soothed  the  madness  and  healed  the 
malady  of  many  a crazed  brain  and  distracted  soul.  But 
the  wild  and  unenlightened  excitement,  begotten  of  blind 
fanaticism  and  erroneous  teaching,  has  often  driven  men 
and  women  mad,  as  statistics  of  American  insanity  fear- 
fully show.  And  in  Spain  there  is  not  energy  enough,  not 
life  enough,  to  make  speculation  dangerous  in  philosophy, 
morals,  or  even  in  money.  I think  it  very  unlikely  that 
they  will  ever  go  wild  after  tulips,  or  mulberries,  or 
petroleum.  They  are  making  railroads,  but  the  French 
and  English  furnish  the  capital  and  send  the  engineers. 
And  the  great  safety-valve,  or  rather  the  great  preserver 
of  the  people's  intellects,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  they 
are  never  in  a hurry  about  any  thing.  The  old  Romans 
had  a good  motto,  Festina  lente , hasten  slowly ; but  the 


LUNATICS. 


67 


Spaniards  never  hasten  at  all.  They  despise  punctuality. 
An  hour  after  the  time  when  a positive  appointment 
had  been  made  with  me,  a man  in  Seville  said,  when  I 
told  him  I had  been  waiting,  “ Why,  the  Queen  never 
comes  till  an  hour  after  the  time  announced  for  her  arrival.” 
And  this  utter  indifference  to  the  value  of  time,  which  is 
money  all  the  world  over,  begets,  or  is  begotten,  for  it  is 
hard  to  say  if  it  be  the  cause  or  the  effect,  of  that  perfect 
sense  of  ease,  content  with  one’s  condition,  idle  careless- 
ness, that  dismisses  all  anxiety  for  the  future.  Such  people 
do  not  go  crazy. 

And  far  above  all  other  immediate  causes  of  insanity  in 
northern  climes,  is  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors.  The 
scholar  drinks  to  keep  up  his  mental  fire,  and  when  he 
becomes  insane  his  malady  is  marked  “ excessive  study.” 
The  banker  or  merchant  drinks  too  much,  and  when  he  is 
put  into  an  asylum  his  madness  is  ascribed  to  his  devotion 
to  his  business.  The  millions  of  our  people  drink,  drink, 
drink,  — and  this  vice  of  the  north  of  Europe  and  of 
America  yields  thousands  on  thousands  of  cases  of  insanity 
every  year.  But  in  those  countries  where  cheap  wines, 
with  little  alcohol  in  them,  are  the  common  drink  of  the 
people,  intemperance  is  comparatively  rare.  An  English 
engineer,  employing  hundreds  of  men  in  building  and 
repairing  Spanish  railways,  assured  me  that  intemperance 
is  wholly  unknown  among  them.  The  class  of  men  who 
would  be  the  most  addicted  to  the  vice  with  us  in  the  United 
States,  are  here  more  temperate  than  any  class  of  people  in 
England  or  America.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  this  tem- 
perance is  the  result  solely  of  the  culture  of  the  vine  and 
the  abundance  of  weak  wine.  It  would  be  a false  conclusion, 
from  very  inadequate  premises,  to  infer  such  an  idea.  It 
is  due  in  most  part  to  the  climate  itself,  which  is  at  once 
favorable  to  the  vine,  and  unfavorable  to  that  elevation  or 
excitement  which  strong  drink  begets..  And.  in  this  de- 


68 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


lightful  clime,  where  to  live  and  breathe  is  a luxury,  and  to 
keep  cool  is  at  once  a virtue  and  a joy,  the  heating  stimulus 
of  ardent  spirits  would  not  be  sought  as  one  of  the  pleas- 
urable vices  of  the  land. 

Therefore,  and  to  this  conclusion  we  are  easily  led,  the 
people  here  in  Spain  are  not  likely  to  be,  as  a general  thing, 
insane.  And  if  we  of  colder  climes  could  be  so  humble  as 
to  take  a lesson  from  poor,  old,  decrepit  Spain,  we  might 
learn  from  these  facts  to  moderate  our  desires,  to  pursue 
the  good  we  seek  with  less  haste  and  more  speed,  to  use 
the  world  as  not  abusing  it,  and  resting  now  and  then, 
avoid  the  lunatic  asylum  on  our  journey  to  the  grave. 

At  dusk  we  went  to  the  station  to  take  our  departure 
from  Toledo.  In  the  train  going  up  to  Madrid  was  a large 
party  of  young  men.  Noisy,  boisterous,  rude,  they  cheered 
every  lady  who  came  to  the  cars,  calling  out  to  the  good- 
looking  ones  to  come  to  their  apartment,  and  making  sport 
of  others ; and  all  this  with  a freedom  and  indecorum  that 
would  not  be  tolerated  even  in  our  land  of  universal  liberty. 
I was  surprised  both  at  their  impudence  and  its  impunity, 
and  asked  who  the  fellows  were. 

“ Oh,”  said  Antanazio,  “ they  are  college  boys  : the  same 
all  the  world  over ! ” 

Even  so,  I do  believe. 


4 


LA  MANCHA. 


69 


CHAPTER  VII 


LA  MANCHA  — ANDALUSIA. 


S I took  my  seat  in  a “ first-class  ” car  and  left  Toledo, 


a gentleman  in  the  same  compartment  asked  me, 
“ Is  smoking  disagreeable  to  you  ? ” 

It  was  the  first  time  that  such  a question  had  been  put  to 
me  in  Spain.  I had  heard  it  proposed  to  a lady,  some  days 
before,  but  generally  no  one  pretends  to  ask  the  privilege  of 
smoking  in  the  cars,  or  the  parlor,  or  anywhere.  Every- 
body smokes,  everywhere.  It  is  not  interdicted  in  any 
department  of  any  railway  carriage.  Occasionally,  in  some 
hotels,  I notice  a rule  posted  in  the  dining-room,  “ Smoking 
not  allowed.”  But  nobody  heeds  it.  An  attempt  to  en- 
force it  would  probably  lead  to  the  sudden  departure  of  all 
Spanish  guests  from  the  house.  At  the  largest  and  best 
hotel  in  Madrid,  sixty  or  seventy  persons,  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, were  at  dinner,  (table-d’hote),  and  in  the  midst 
of  dinner,  between  the  courses,  gentlemen  lighted  their 
cigarettes,  smoked  them,  and  resumed  their  eating.  Yet  the 
notice  forbidding  smoking  was  in  full  view,  or  was  until 
the  clouds  of  smoke  obscured  it.  In  the  reading-rooms  of 
the  hotels,  oftentimes  small  and  unventilated,  nine  out  of 
ten  are  smoking  all  the  time,  and  the  thought  never  occurs 
to  one  of  them  that  this  may  be  a nuisance  to  others.  I 
am  told,  that  at  the  theatres  in  Spain,  in  the  midst  of  the 
play,  the  audience  smoke  in  their  seats,  and  if  any  man- 
agers attain  to  such  a moderate  height  of  civilization  as  to 
publish  a rule  restraining  the  odious  habit,  the  Dons  of 


70 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Spain  pay  no  sort  of  attention  to  it.  All  attempts  at  re- 
form end  only  in  smoke. 

I asked  Antanazio  if  smoking  is  allowed  in  the  churches 
of  Spain.  44  Oh  no,  no,”  he  answered, with  a pious  horror; 
44  it  was  shocking  to  think  of  such  a desecration.”  44  Then,” 
said  I,  44  when  I come  to  Spain  to  live,  I will  get  a little 
church  for  myself,  for  nowhere  else  in  this  country  can  a 
man  find  refuge  from  this  intolerable  nuisance.” 

44  Ah,  yes,”  he  replied;  44  but  perhaps  the  incense  will 
make  a smoke  quite  as  disagreeable  as  the  American  weed.” 

This  was  a double  hit,  as  it  reminded  me  of  my  Protes- 
tant aversion  to  incense  in  churches,  and  also  of  the  fact 
that  the  weed  and  the  habit  of  using  it  came  from  my  part 
of  the  world. 

By  this  time  the  compartment  was  so  densely  filled  with 
smoke  that  I opened  the  window  and  put  out  my  head  for 
breath,  as  a signal  of  distress,  in  the  hope,  but  vain,  of 
enlisting  the  sympathies  of  the  smokers,  and  inducing 
them  to  forego  their  pleasures  while  I recovered.  I de- 
tected grim  smiles  of  satisfaction  on  the  dark  faces  of  my 
fellow-travellers,  who  puffed  away  the  more  vigorously,  as 
they  looked  on  my  woe-begone  face. 

Perhaps  by  advertising  a reward  for  the  discovery,  it 
might  be  possible  to  find  a man  in  Spain  who  does  not 
smoke.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  the  culture  of  tobacco  in 
Spain  is  forbidden  by  law.  The  soil  and  climate  are  favor- 
able, and  its  cultivation  has  been  a great  success.  But  by 
that  kind  of  legislation  or  decree  peculiar  to  Spain,  and 
constantly  reminding  one  of  the  Chinese,  the  mother  coun- 
try, Spain,  is  prohibited  from  raising  tobacco  in  order  that 
the  daughter,  Cuba,  may  have  the  monopoly.  The  right  of 
importation  is  sold  to  contractors,  who  make  a great  busi- 
ness of  it.  In  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  the 
Spaniards  began  to  get  tobacco  from  America,  and  they 
have  been  getting  more  and  more  of  it  ever  since.  In  i860 


LA  MANCHA. 


7 1 


they  smoked  seven  millions  of  cigars,  and  cigars  are,  not  the 
thing  they  usually  smoke.  They  have  their  tobacco  rolled 
up  in  little  bits  of  paper,  and  these  they  carry  in  their 
pockets,  with  matches.  Often  they  carry  the  tobacco  and 
the  paper  separately,  and  make  a cigarette  when  they  want 
it,  making  one  while  smoking  another.  These  interesting 
manufactures  are  not  peculiar  to  Spain ; they  are  common 
in  our  own  country,  but  not  so  general.  The  weed  is  used 
only  for  smoking  and  snuffing  in  Spain.  I cannot  learn  that 
it  is  chewed  at  all. 

Children  smoke  at  an  earlier  age  in  Spain  than  in  other 
countries.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  them  to  begin  at  six,  or 
even  five  years  of  age.  And  they  never  leave  it  off  till  they 
die.  Ladies  smoke.  Not  often  do  we  see  them  with  a 
cigarette  in  their  pretty  mouths  on  the  street  or  in  the 
cars,  but  in  the  cafe  and  in  the  drawing-room  they  enjoy 
it,  as  well  as  in  the  boudoir  and  the  bath.  By  cool  foun- 
tains, in  a marble-paved  patio,  among  the  orange-trees,  or 
lolling  at  noon  on  their  silken-hung  couches,  they  love  to 
smoke,  and  their  lords  have  spoiled  their  own  breaths  and 
taste  too  effectually  to  make  any  objection.  Where  both 
eat  garlic  it  amounts  to  the  same  thing. 

In  Seville  we  saw  a tobacco  factory,  erected  more  than  a 
hundred  years  ago,  at  a cost  of  nearly  two  millions  of  dollars 
then!  It  is  652  feet  long  and  524  feet  wide.  Five  thou- 
sand persons  are  at  work  in  it  all  the  time,  putting  the  im- 
ported tobacco  into  cigars  or  cigarettes,  and  making  snuff, 
and  they  use  two  millions  of  pounds  of  tobacco  every  year. 
Most  of  these  workers  are  women.  Mothers  who  bring 
their  children  have  nursery  arrangements  provided  for 
them  during  the  hours  of  work.  But  the  most  of  them  are 
young  women,  a class  by  themselves,  known  as  cigarercis , 
or  cigar-girls.  Smart  at  their  business  in  the  factory,  they 
are  wild  as  hawks  and  gay  as  larks  at  the  bull-fight  on  Sun- 
days, or  the  dance  on  the  green.  This  is  the  largest  estab- 


72 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


lishment  of  the  kind  in  Spain,  and  produces  as  good  an 
article  as  any  other,  but  the  cigars  made  in  Spain  are  not 
as  popular  with  good  judges  as  those  brought  directly  from 
Cuba.  The  manufacturers  there  prefer  sending  the  best 
to  London,  New  York,  or  Paris,  where  they  find  a readier 
market  for  the  high-priced  article.  And  the  Cubans  are  as 
cute  in  concocting  peculiar  flavors  for  their  cigars,  as  the 
French  or  the  Italians  for  their  wines,  or  Jerseymen  for 
their  cider.  The  connoisseur  in  tobacco  pays  a quarter  of 
a dollar  (more  or  less)  for  a 44  first-rate  ” cigar,  and  smokes 
it  with  delicious  enjoyment  at  his  club,  or  after  dinner  in 
his  study,  rejoicing  in  the  dreamy,  balmy  languor  that 
softly  steals  upon  his  senses,  soothes  his  nerves,  and 
makes  him  sweetly  oblivious  of  the  cares  and  toils  of  the 
day  just  passed.  He  is  sure  it  does  him  good.  And  he 
does  not  know,  and  will  not  believe  when  he  is  told,  what 
every  one  knows  who  looks  into  the  subject  to  learn,  that 
at  the  very  root  and  source  of  the  business  there  is  as 
much  concoction  of  tobacco  as  there  is  of  coffee  or  wine. 
Potash  and  soda  are  in  abundant  use  to  impart  peculiar 
pungency  to  the  plant.  And  many  in  the  excited  atmos- 
phere of  New  York  or  London  life  demand  a sedative 
cigar  more  soporific  than  the  narcotic  plant  in  its  natural 
state.  For  them,  cigars  are  made  of  tobacco  leaves  steeped 
in  opium.  Many  of  our  clergymen,  renowned  for  eloquence 
and  piety  and  learning,  denounce  with  blazing  zeal  the 
baneful  practice  of  smoking  or  chewing  opium , a habit 
becoming  almost  as  common  in  the  United  States  as  in 
China.  But  these  same  excellent  men  are  daily  smoking 
opium  in  their  cigars,  quite  unconscious  of  the  evils,  physi- 
cal and  mental,  they  are  gradually  but  surely  inhaling  with 
every  breath  they  draw  through  this  venomous  weed.  The 
cigar  burns  freely  when  first  lighted,  its  ashes  are  grayish 
white,  and  the  ring  is  faint  at  the  end,  the  smoke  rises 
lightly,  and  the  taste,  if  any,  is  nearly  imperceptible ; there- 


LA  MANCHA. 


73 


fore  they  know  it  is  a good  cigar.  But  the  opium-eater  is 
not  more  surely  a suicide  than  they.  Dyspepsia  often  fol: 
lows  ; and  nervous  debility,  despondency,  melancholy,  in- 
somnia, maladies  supposed  to  be  relieved  by  what  is  their 
producing  cause.  Epilepsy  and  apoplexy  are  not  unknown 
effects. 

We  now  cross  the  wide  pastoral  regions  of  La  Mancha. 
Readers  of  Don  Quixote  recollect  these  plains  as  the  scene 
of  many  a gallant  exploit  by  the  knight-errant  who  took  his 
title  from  this  province.  And  we  had  no  sooner  called  him 
to  mind  than  we  saw  a windmill,  and  then  another,  and 
soon  many  more,  brandishing  their  huge  arms,  as  when  the 
crazy  hero  supposed  them  to  be  challenging  him  to  fight, 
and  with  mad  courage  rushed  to  the  encounter.  Flocks  of 
sheep  are  roaming  over  the  plains  as  when  he  mistook  them 
for  hostile  armies.  His  trusty  squire  Sancho  proposed  that 
they  should  wait  until  they  saw  which  side  was  likely  to 
come  off  conqueror,  and  join  that ; but  the  hero  of  the 
windmill  denounced  the  counsel  as  worthy  only  of  a craven, 
insisting  it  would  be  more  becoming  a valiant  knight  to 
join  the  weaker  side,  and  insure  it  the  victory. 

No  trees  are  seen.  This  is  the  peculiar  feature  of  the 
Spanish  landscape.  Across  vast  plains  that  reach  the 
horizon  the  eye  seeks  in  vain  to  find  a single  tree  to  relieve 
the  monotony  of  the  view.  And  when  the  hills  stretch 
away  in  graceful  lines,  bending  and  rising  with  voluptuous 
swells  that  seem  to  be  carved  and  set  against  the  sky,  they 
are  destitute  of  trees.  In  centuries  past  these  have  been 
stripped  off,  and  none  have  been  planted  since;  and  the 
country  is  as  bare  as  the  back  of  your  hand. 

The  sheep  are  tended  by  shepherds,  who  migrate  from 
the  higher  to  the  lower  pastures,  according  to  the  season 
of  the  year.  They  constitute  a large  part  of  the  wealth 
of  the  people.  Ten  years  ago  there  were  seventeen  mil- 
lions of  sheep  in  Spain.  The  number  is,  doubtless,  much 


74  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

greater  now.  The  wool  trade  of  Spain  was  at  one  time  of 
vast  importance  to  the  world,  but  England  and  Germany 
now  far  outstrip  it,  and  the  trade  with  Syria,  in  the  coarser 
wools,  has  opened  an  outlet  for  the  produce  of  Lebanon  and 
the  plains  of  Mesopotamia. 

Corn,  including  cereals  of  all  kinds,  does  well  in  this 
central  part  of  Spain.  It  thrives  in  spite  of  the  stupidest, 
or  rather  the  most  primitive  style  of  agriculture,  still  pre- 
vailing. 44  Tickle  the  ground  with  a hoe,”  and  the  crop 
will  spring.  But  there  is  little  tickling  done  with  a hoe. 
They  plough  to  this  day  with  a tree,  the  root  sticking  into 
the  ground  and  scratching  it  a little ; or  they  leave  a branch 
shooting  out  at  an  angle  from  the  stem  of  the  tree,  and 
sometimes  they  cover  this  stick  with  a bit  of  iron,  and  with 
mules  or  oxen  drag  it  along  the  field.  They  sow  broadcast, 
and  plough  it  under.  They  use  no  harrows.  It  is  barely 
possible  that  one  of  the  modern  civilized  ploughs  has  found 
its  way  into  Spain,  but  I saw  none,  and  heard  of  nothing 
better  than  the  but-end  of  a small  elm-tree.  Yet  agri- 
culture is  the  great  business  of  Spain,  suited  to  the  habits 
and  genius  of  the  people,  who  love  the  sun  and  enjoy  the 
open  air,  and  dislike  trade  or  mechanics  of  any  kind.  And 
more  than  any  other  people  in  Europe  the  Spanish  do  as 
their  fathers  did,  despising  all  innovations  as  unworthy  of 
their  ancestral  dignity.  The  farmers  of  Virgil  and  Homer, 
and  the  rural  scenes  which  are  described  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures,  are  the  counterpart  of  what  may  be  seen 
in  Spain  to-day.  I am  reminded  daily  of  the  fields  in  Asia 
Minor,  in  Syria,  and  Greece.  If  it  were  strange  that  im- 
provements in  husbandry  had  made  very  little  progress 
there,  much  more  surprising  it  is  to  find  that  all  things  in 
this  country  continue  to  be  as  they  were.  They  are  so 
near  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  the  means  of  communication 
are  now  so  ready,  it  is  a marvel  of  marvels  that  they  are  still 
in  the  same  ruts  their  fathers  were  in  a thousand  years  ago. 


LA  MANCHA. 


75 


But  there  are  signs  of  better  times.  The  law  of  primo- 
geniture has  been  abolished,  and  this  new  measure  tends 
rapidly  to  the  multiplication  of  owners  of  real  estate.  The 
lands  of  the  church  have  been  sold  and  divided.  Vast 
tracts  held  by  the  crown  have  also  been  distributed  by  law 
among  the  people,  at  a moderate  price.  Agricultural  soci- 
eties have  been  formed,  and  cattle  shows  and  fairs  are 
becoming  common.  These  things  are  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. The  government  has  established  agricultural  schools 
and  model  farms.  A few  periodicals  are  published,  with 
the  intent  of  spreading  useful  information  among  the 
people ; and  those  who  can  read  will  get  some  good  out 
of  them. 

After  crossing  the  plains  of  La  Mancha  we  reach  the 
Sierra  Morena  range  of  mountains,  and  are  to  work  our 
way  through  and  over  them.  The  daring  of  the  engineers 
who  would  push  a road  into  such  recesses  is  prodigious. 
The  precipices  are  frightful.  Peaks  of  mountains  start  up 
suddenly,  and  seem  to  pierce  the  clouds.  Rocks  of  gigantic 
grandeur  rise  abruptly,  and  sometimes  stand  apart  in  soli- 
tary dignity.  Deep  gorges  are  to  be  spanned  by  the  iron 
road.  Long  and  frequent  galleries  lead,  in  gloomy  state, 
through  the  bowels  of  the  mountains.  The  road  is  sub- 
lime, if  safe,  and  it  appears  to  be  well  made.  We  come  to 
a bridge  under  repairs.  All  the  passengers  are  requested 
to  walk.  In  single  file  we  march  over  the  bridge,  and  then 
await  the  train.  It  comes  across,  lightened'  of  its  load, 
slowly  and  safely.  It  is  quite  likely  that  in  America  the 
engineer  would  have  put  on  all  steam,  and  dashed  across  in 
a second,  or,  if  not,  he  would  have  gone  down  a hundred 
feet,  into  a frightful  chasm,  and  the  verdict,  if  any  were 
sought,  would  have  been,  “ nobody  to  blame.”  Fret  as  we 
do  about  the  railroad  management  in  Europe,  it  is  safer  and 
surer  than  ours.  They  err  generally  on  the  safe  side,  pro- 
voking us  by  their  delays,  but  very  rarely  breaking  our 


^6  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

necks.  And,  on  the  whole,  their  way  of  doing  things  is 
the  best. 

At  Manjibar  we  stopped  for  lunch,  or  breakfast,  or  din- 
ner, whichsoever  any  one  might  call  it.  It  was  hard  to  say 
where  or  when  our  last  meal  was,  and  what  was  the  name 
of  this.  Still  more  difficult  was  it  to  ascertain  the  names 
of  the  dishes  set  before  us.  One  dish  had  been  chicken, 
but  in  some  advanced  stage  of  its  post-mortem  existence  it 
had  been  consigned  to  a bath  of  pickle,  and  was  now  offered 
for  our  consumption.  A single  taste  sufficed.  It  probably 
returned  to  its  brine,  to  wait  a bolder  customer,  with  a 
better  appetite.  Thep  they  gave  us  a stew.  I suggested 
that  it  was  hare.  My  companion  thought  it  a cat.  I gave 
it  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  and  turned  away.  The  price  of 
this  meal  that  we  tried  in  vain  to  eat,  was  the  same  as  the 
table-d’hote  dinner  at  many  hotels  in  Paris,  — four  francs. 

Sick,  I went  into  the  air.  I sat  down  on  a trunk  out- 
side, sighing  for  other  lands,  and  something  to  eat.  A ser- 
vant came  out  and  drove  me  off  the  trunk,  saying,  “ It  is 
forbidden  to  sit  here.”  Into  the  waiting-room  I directed 
my  steps.  It  was  full  of  dirty,  disgusting  people,  some  of 
them  beggars,  some  gypsies,  some  in  queer  costumes,  some 
in  rags.  The  fragrance  was  too  much  for  me,  and  I walked 
out  again.  Over  the  way  was  a table  with  candies  and 
liquors  to  be  sold.  It  was  in  front  of  a door  that  opened 
into  the  side  of  a hill.  There  was  no  other  sign  of  a 
house.  I went  across  the  railway,  and  entered  the  open 
door.  It  let  me  into  a small  room,  nicely  cemented  above 
and  on  all  sides ; a fire  in  a neat  arrangement  for  it,  and  a 
chimney  reaching  out  of  the  ground  above.  A man  was 
sitting  by  the  fire ; a babe  was  in  a cradle ; the  wife  was 
bustling  about.  It  was  a very  comfortable  affair.  Another 
room  was  the  bed-chamber ; and  a third  was  a storeroom ; 
and  the  three  completed  the  underground  cottage.  In 
other  climates  it  might  be  damp.  Here  it  was  dry  enough ; 


ANDALUSIA. 


77 


cool  in  summer  and  warm  in  winter.  I spent  a few  minutes 
very  cheerfully  with  these  people,  and  they  seemed  to  be 
pleased  with  a visit  from  a stranger.  It  was  a far  better 
house  than  the  rude  huts  we  had  seen  on  the  way. 

We  are  now  in  Andalusia,  and  in  one  of  the  worst  parts 
of  Spain.  True,  it  is  Andalusia,  and  the  very  sound  of 
the  name  is  musical,  suggesting  beauty  and  pastoral 
delights.  But  in  the  province  of  Jaen,  and  we  are  near 
the  city  of  that  name,  out  of  a population  of  360,000,  more 
than  300,000  are  unable  to  read ; and  as  ignorance  and 
crime  go  hand  in  hand,  the  number  of  murders  is  between 
350  and  400  every  year,  and  nearly  as  many  robberies. 
Such  is  a picture  of  much  of  Spain.  This  is,  perhaps,  as 
dark  a picture  as  could  be  honestly  drawn,  but  there  are 
hundreds  of  towns,  of  which  the  mayor  or  chief  officer  does 
not  know  how  to  read  or  write. 

Ten  years  ago,  when  the  last  census  was  made,  in  a 
population  of  15,613,536,  there  were  actually  12,543,169 
who  could  not  read  and  write,  leaving  only  3,070,367  people 
in  Spain  possessed  of  these  accomplishments.  In  i860 
there  were  1,101,529  children  in  the  public  schools  of  Spain, 
and  they  must  learn  something. 

It  is  encouraging  to  learn  that  the  government  is  paying 
increased  attention  to  the  subject  of  education.  There  are 
25,000  primary  schools  in  the  kingdom,  which  ought  to  be 
exerting  a powerful  effect  upon  the  people.  Spain  has  ten 
universities,  and  the  number  of  students  in  them  is  far 
greater  than  one  would  expect  under  the  low  state  of  pop- 
ular education.  They  are  thus  distributed  : — 


Madrid 4,194 

Barcelona 1,365 

Seville .......  887 

Valladolid 828 

Granada 617 


Valencia 624 

Santiago 403 

Saragossa 389 

Salamanca 242 

Oviedo 155 


The  course  of  study  pursued  in  these  institutions  is  sub- 


78 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


stantially  the  same  as  that  in  other  countries : 2,040  of  the 
students  are  in  the  Philosophical  and  Literary  course,  1,617 
in  the  Exact  Sciences,  Physics,  and  so  forth  ; while  Law, 
Theology,  and  Medicine  include  the  rest.  Some  of  these 
universities  once  had  a reputation  as  wide  as  the  civilized 
part  of  the  world,  and  students  from  all  nations  flocked  to 
them  as  to  the  purest  and  sweetest  fountains  of  knowledge 
in  the  earth.  At  Salamanca,  where  now  there  are  less  than 
250  students,  there  were  10,000  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  its  reputation  has  been  higher  than  Oxford’s.  It  was 
at  this  university  that  the  Copernican  system  of  astronomy 
was  held  and  taught,  when  the  Romish  Church  denounced 
it  as  heretical  and  contrary  to  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Yet 
even  here  Columbus  could  make  no  impression  in  favor  of 
his  theory  of  another  continent,  but  all  his  arguments  were 
treated  with  the  greatest  contempt  by  the  learned  men  of 
the  university  of  Salamanca.  The  professors  of  the  modern 
school,  which  still  retains  the  name  and  distinctions  of  the 
days  of  its  glory,  get  $600  a year  for  their  services,  and 
that  is  probably  an  index  of  the  estimation  in  which  learn- 
ing is  held  in  these  decayed  and  benighted  regions. 

The  present  population  of  Spain,  making  due  allowance 
for  increase  since  the  last  estimate,  is  about  16,400,000. 
It  is  therefore  the  eighth  of  the  European  powers  in  num- 
bers, Italy  and  Turkey  being  both  ahead  of  it.  The 
increase  of  population  in  Spain  is  only  at  the  rate  of  less 
than  the  half  of  one  per  hundred  annually.  At  this  rate 
the  number  would  double  only  once  in  1 8 1 years,  placing 
Spain  behind  every  country  in  Europe,  in  this  respect, 
except  poor  Austria.  She  doubles  once  in  198  years;  then 
Spain;  then  France,  once  in  122  years;  Holland,  once  in 
80  years;  Scotland,  once  in  46  years;  Prussia,  once  in  41 
years  ; England  and  Wales,  once  in  29  years. 

One  of  the  most  curious  questions  in  morals,  politics, 
and  physiology,  is  started  by  these  facts.  They  furnish 


ANDALUSIA. 


79 


food  for  thought.  One  class  of  speculators  will  find  moral 
causes  to  explain  the  circumstances,  and  they  may  easily 
gather  a pile  of  facts  to  sustain  their  positions.  Climate, 
too,  has  its  influence.  The  civil  government,  with  the 
physical  condition  of  the  people,  is  to  be  considered.  But 
when  the  physical,  the  moral,  the  civil,  and  the  social  state 
of  Austria,  Spain,  France,  Holland,  Prussia,  Italy,  and 
England  is  duly  examined,  it  still  remains  to  be  ascertained 
why  it  is  that  the  number  of  inhabitants  increased  more 
rapidly  among  the  colored  people  of  the  Southern  States 
of  North  America  while  they  were  slaves,  and  now  increases 
more  rapidly  among  the  Irish  portion  of  the  American 
population,  than  it  does  among  these  highly  favored  coun- 
tries of  Europe.  The  statistics  of  births  in  New  England 
and  other  parts  of  . the  United  States  unhappily  show  that, 
with  the  increase  of  the  cost  of  living,  and  of  luxury  and 
effeminacy,  the  number  of  children  born  is  less  and  less 
from  year  to  year.  There  is  no  truth  in  social  economy 
better  established  by  the  comparison  of  an  adequate  number 
of  facts  than  this,  that  the  diminution  in  the  number  of 
births  is  attended  by,  if  not  consequent  upon,  the  deterio- 
ration of  the  health  and  the  morals  of  any  people.  Oppres- 
sion which  makes  a wise  man  mad  may  depress  the  spirits, 
exhaust  the  energies,  and  retard  the  increase  of  a population, 
not  supernaturally  sustained  as  were  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt, 
who,  the  more  they  were  afflicted,  the  more  they  multiplied 
and  grew.  But  favored  as  the  middle  and  southern  coun- 
tries of  Europe  are  by  climate  and  soil,  affording  the  people 
an  easy  and  comfortable  subsistence,  they  might  and  would 
increase  in  numbers  as  rapidly  at  least  as  the  northern,  if 
they  were  so  disposed. 

We  are  now  coming  down  into  the  region  of  the  aloe,  the 
olive,  the  orange,  and  the  vine.  Since  we  have  crossed  the 
Sierra  Morena,  the  climate  has  softened.  At  this  season 
of  the  year  (February),  the  vegetation  is  not  far  advanced, 


8o 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


but  the  leaves  of  the  olive  are  always  green,  and  the  orange 
and  the  lemon  bear  leaves  and  fruit  and  flowers  at  the  same 
time.  The  orange  should,  in  some  climates,  like  this  and 
the  south  of  France,  remain  on  the  tree,  after  it  appears  to 
be  ripe,  for  two  years,  before  it  is  sweet.  Much  of  that 
delicious  fruit  which  we  have  in  our  country  is  too  sour  to 
be  good,  because  gathered  and  sent  to  market  before  it  is 
fully  ripe.  Here,  and  all  over  the  southern  parts  of  Spain, 
it  is  a glorious  fruit.  It  is  very  large,  very  yellow,  and  very 
sweet ; and  being  abundant,  is  very  cheap.  A cent  of  our 
money  will  buy  the  largest,  and  the  natives  get  them  much 
cheaper  than  that.  Sweet  lemons  are  also  common.  But 
they  are  not  agreeable.  They  seem  to  me  a miserable 
attempt  to  be  an  orange.  And  the  good  sour  lemons  grow 
to  an  enormous  size.  I got  one  in  Cordova  to  measure, 
and  my  hat  would  hold  one  lemon  only ! The  skin  was  at 
least  an  inch  thick ; the  juice  not  so  acid  as  of  the  lemon 
generally,  and  there  was  no  more  of  it  than  in  one  of  ordi- 
nary size.  These  large  lemons  are  used  in  preserves,  the 
skin  being  the  only  available  part  of  the  fruit. 

We  are  now  on  the  plains,  in  sight  of  the  graceful  hills 
of  Andalusia.  In  the  soft  sunlight  of  this  warm  winter’s 
day  the  hills  appear  to  be  sleeping  and  enjoying  theii 
repose.  All  nature,  even  now,  invites  to  rest.  We  begin 
to  feel  the  languor  of  the  clime.  There  are  no  trees  but 
the  olive.  No  birds  are  singing,  or  we  should  know  that 
summer  is  nigh.  We  stop  frequently  at  little  stations,  to 
leave  and  take  the  mail.  The  letters  and  papers  are  tied 
up  in  a packet  with  a string,  and  are  handed  from  the  mail- 
car  to  a boy  or  a woman  on  hand  to  receive  them.  The 
letters  from  the  place  are  delivered  to  the  mail-agent  in  the 
same  way.  No  bag,  no  box,  no  lock  or  key,  not  even  a 
wrapper  around  the  letters  protects  them.  It  is  the  way 
they  do  things  in  this  country. 

Over  these  wide  plains  there  are  few  or  no  habitations  to 


ANDALUSIA. 


8l 


be  seen.  The  peasants  must  travel  many  miles  to  their 
daily  work,  for  they  live  in  villages  far  away  from  the  lands 
they  till.  Few  cattle  are  to  be  seen  ; now  and  then  a flock 
of  sheep.  More  black  sheep  than  white  ones  were  in  sight, 
and  many  of  the  blacks  were  singularly  marked,  having  but 
one  white  spot  on  them,  and  that  at  the  tip  of  their  tails. 


CORDOVA. 


CORDOVA. 


83 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CORDOVA. 

A NEW,  but  Id  world,  a sudden  vision  of  the  Orient, 
^ rose  on  the  sight,  when  we  reached  the  city  of  Cor- 
dova. Never  did  I enter  a city  that  filled  me  with  a deeper 
sense  of  the  transient,  temporal,  and  fleeting  nature  of  all 
things  material.  It  is  not  in  ruins.  It  shows  no  tokens  of 
decay  to  the  coming  traveller.  A cleaner  city  is  not  in  the 
world.  It  was  the  first  city  in  Europe  whose  streets  were 
paved,  and  the  traditional  habits  of  the  people  are  so  well 
preserved,  that  although  it  was  a thousand  years  ago  (in 
850,  under  Abdurhaman)  that  this  work  was  done,  it  has 
been  done  again  and  again,  and  the  stones  in  the  streets 
are  kept  as  clean  as  the  floor  of  a house.  The  Guadal- 
quiver  flows  gently  by  the  side  of  it,  and  under  the  shade- 
trees  planted  on  its  banks  the  idle  and  the  fashionable 
have  their  favorite  lounge  and  promenade.  The  bridge 
over  this  widely  famed  river  was  first  built  by  Octavius 
Caesar  and  rebuilt  by  the  Moors.  Standing  on  sixteen 
arches,  it  is  a striking  monument  of  two  departed  dynasties 
and  forms  of  civilization.  The  city  itself  was  great  before 
Christ  came  into  the  world,  and  Julius  Caesar  writes  of  it  as 
it  was  in  his  day,  when  his  armies  swept  over  Spain.  In 
the  civil  wars  of  Rome,  Cordova  declared  for  Pompey,  and 
then  Caesar  put  28,000  of  its  inhabitants  to  the  sword. 

After  the  Moors  came  over  from  Africa,  and,  in  the 
battle  of  Guadalete,  struck  down  the  power  of  the  Goths, 
this  city  was  governed  by  the  Caliph  of  Damascus,  until  it 


84 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


became  independent  and  the  capital  of  Moorish  Spain. 
Then  began  its  career  of  glory.  In  the  tenth  century  it 
had  300,000  inhabitants  (now  40,000),  and  for  these  de- 
vout and  cleanly  and  hospitable  and  learned  Mussulmans 
there  were  six  hundred  mosques,  and  nine  hundred  baths, 
and  six  hundred  inns,  and  eight  hundred  schools,  and  a 
library  of  600,000  volumes. 

Outside  of  the  city  the  people  had  gone  in  crowds  to  a 
rural  fete.  Men,  women,  and  children,  old  and  young,  rich 
and  poor,  on  foot,  on  horse,  on  mules  or  donkeys,  and  in 
carriages,  — any  way  to  go,  — all  had  gone  to  have  a jolly 
time  in  the  country,  as  the  custom  is  in  Spain.  It  was  a 
gay  sight,  but  rising  among  the  grounds  were  scattered 
here  and  there  the  remnants  of  ancient  buildings,  broken 
columns,  fragments  of  capitals,  and  blocks  of  stone,  that  ky 
there  silently  speaking  of  departed  glory.  For  here  once 
stood  the  fairy  palace  of  the  Moorish  Abdurhama,  which 
that  prince  built  for  his  favorite  sultana,  whose  name  it 
bore,  and  whose  statue  stood  above  the  principal  gate. 
The  whole  palace  was  of  marbles  and  precious  stones, 
adorned  with  the  florid  architecture  which  the  genius  of  the 
East  would  invent.  More  than  four  thousand  marble 
columns  did  this  luxurious  monarch  bring  from  France 
and  Italy  and  Africa  to  adorn  his  halls.  And  when  he  had 
spent  more  than  fifty  millions  of  pounds  sterling  upon  it, 
he  brought  into  his  harem  four  thousand  and  three  hundred 
women  ! Guarded  by  twelve  thousand  valiant  men,  he 
gave  himself  up  to  the  pleasures  of  “ the  life  that  now  is.” 
The  city  of  Cordova  was  the  city  for  such  a king  ! 

It  is  Moorish,  Oriental,  languid,  voluptuous,  in  its  decay. 
Walking  along  its  quiet,  almost  noiseless  streets,  we  looked 
in  upon  the  courts  that  form  the  central  patio  around  the 
four  sides  of  which  the  house  is  built.  In  the  midst,  a 
fountain  springs,  and  the  water  falls  back  into  a marble 
basin.  Around  it  shrubs  with  blooming  flowers  fill  the  air 


CORDOVA. 


85 


with  fragrance  and  beauty.  In  some  of  them  evergreen 
trees,  of  unknown  age,  are  growing,  and  these  have  been 
trained  so  curiously,  as  to  produce  surprising  effects. 
Planted  at  the  four  corners  of  a square,  their  tops  are 
brought  over  to  meet  each  other,  the  branches  are  joined, 
the  redundant  leaves  and  twigs  being  pruned  away,  they 
grow  together,  the  whole  four,  like  one  tree  of  arch  over 
arch,  a perpetually  verdant  bower.  The  windows  of  the 
dwelling  look  down  into  this  court ; and  in  them,  or  on  its 
marble  pavements  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  the  women  sit 
with  their  needle-work,  enjoying  the  fragrant  shade  and  the 
music  of  the  falling  water.  The  gardens  abound  in  oranges, 
lemons,  and  limes,  hanging  over  the  walls  in  clusters  of 
extraordinary  size. 

The  interior  of  these  ancient  houses  is  no  less  interesting. 
One,  to  which  we  were  invited,  was  said  to  be  the  best 
example  of  the  Moorish  domestic  architecture  extant  in 
Cordova.  A few  jasper  columns  were  standing  under  the 
archway  by  which  we  passed  from  the  court.  The  modern 
whitewash  had  covered  the  most  of  the  arabesque  embel- 
lishments upon  the  walls.  We  ascended  a flight  of  broad, 
brick  steps,  with  a solid  beam  of  wood  at  the  outer  edge  of 
each  step,  and  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  the  venerable  master 
of  the  house  met  us  kindly  and  made  us  welcome.  We 
heard  a piano  as  we  were  coming  up  the  steps,  but  it  sud- 
denly ceased,  and  a young  lady  flitted  out  of  view.  The 
house  is  said  to  be  more  than  a thousand  years  old.  It  may 
be  so,  but  the  Moorish  style  is  so  imprinted  on  the  tastes 
of  the  people  that  they  build  age  after  age  with  substantially 
the  same  models,  and  it  is  not  safe  to  affirm  that  the  hands 
of  the  Moors  laid  any  of  these  stones.  The  ceilings  are 
very  low,  the  rooms  small,  the  furniture,  as  in  all  lands,  is 
according  to  the  taste  or  means  of  the  owner,  but  Eastern 
in  its  style,  and  adapted  to  the  quiet,  languid  type  of  the 
modern  as  well  as  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  and  all 
such  climes. 


86 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  wonder  of  Cordova  is  also  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
world.  Its  cathedral  has  been  a mosque  of  the  Moors.  To 
see  it  once  is  an  adequate  reward  for  all  one  has  endured  in 
travelling  thus  far  through  the  most  comfortless  country  in 
Europe.  To  see  it  often,  and  study  it  in  the  minute' details 
of  its  extraordinary  plan  and  finish,  is  to  lay  up  a store  of 
imagery  for  dreams  of  memory  through  the  rest  of  a life- 
time. At  least  so  it  seems  to  me  now,  since  entering  its 
magnificent  Gate  of  Pardon,  and  suddenly  standing  in  the 
midst  of  a thousand  variously  colored  columns,  — marble, 
jasper,  porphyry,  granite,  — all  surmounted  by  Corinthian 
capitals,  a forest  in  a temple,  a petrified  grove  of  trunks  of 
majestic  trees,  enclosed  in  walls.  Perhaps  the  memory  of 
it  will  fade,  so  that  a year  or  two  hence  the  impressions 
of  wonder,  of  sublimity,  of  vastness,  will  not  be  so  strong 
as  they  are  now.  But  at  the  moment  when  the  interior 
first  broke  upon  my  sight,  it  was  as  strange  to  me  that  the 
art  of  men  could  construct  such  an  edifice,  as  that  the  great 
Architect  should  build  the  walls  over  which  the  Niagara 
rushes  for  ever. 

Stepping  out  of  the  street  through  a gate  in  a solid  wall, 
we  are  in  the  midst  of  a court-yard  some  400  feet  long : an 
orange  grove,  venerable  trees  that  have  been  bearing  fruit, 
as  now,  a century  or  more;  and  three  fountains  send  up 
jets  of  waters  that  ‘fall  back  info  large  marble  basins  filled 
with  goldfish  which  groups  of  children  are  feeding.  Near 
the  gate,  on  benches,  elderly  men  are  sitting,  smoking,  and 
enjoying  the  sunshine.  The  elders  sat  in  the  gate  in  the 
Scripture  times,  and  do  now  in  Eastern  towns,  and  here 
also,  where  Oriental  manners  still  obtain.  In  former  years 
this  court  became  a great  resort  for  the  people  who  made  a 
mart,  or  exchange,  as  in  all  ages  men  have  been  tempted 
to  make  the  house  of  prayer  a market-place,  and  so  it  often 
becomes  a den  of  thieves.  Now,  this  Court  of  Oranges,  as 
it  is  called,  is  the  resort  of  old  men  and  children,  who  enjoy 


CORDOVA. 


87 


the  warmth  and  shade  and  waters  of  the  holy  precincts. 
Passing  through  this  court  we  come  to  the  sacred  edifice 
itself.  Its  history  is  as  eventful  as  that  of  Spain.  It  was 
built  by  the  Moors  as  a mosque,  and  when  the  Christians 


Court  of  Oranges,  Cordova. 


conquered  Cordova,  they  converted  the  mosque  into  a 
church,  though  they  could  not  convert  the  Moors  into 
Christians.  And  this  now-called  cathedral  is  the  one  that 
Abdurhaman  began  to  build  A.  d.  786,  and  his  son  com- 
pleted in  796,  pushing  on  the  work  with  such  tremendous 
energy  that  in  ten  years  he  constructed  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  edifices  in  the  world.  His  father’s  idea  was  to 
surpass  every  temple  on  earth  in  extent  and  strength  and 
splendor.  It  was  to  be  the  Mecca  in  Europe  ; and  when 
the  Western  world  was  subdued  to  Islam,  as  he  and  all  the 
believers  believed  it  would  be,  the  holy  place  to  which  pil- 
grimages from  all  these  lands  would  be  made  was  Cordova. 


88 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


It  is,  therefore,  the  finest  example  that  Spain  possesses  of 
that  peculiar  style  of  architecture  and  ornamentation  which 
the  Moors  introduced,  and  which  have  been  gradually  dis- 
appearing with  the  lapse  of  centuries.  It  doubtless  has  a 
symbolism  behind  its  material  forms,  and  the  student  of  art 
and  religious  thought  will  read  in  the  plan  and  a thousand 
details,  a meaning  that  does  not  meet  the  unanointed  eye  of 
the  simple  traveller. 

The  Gate  of  Pardon  is  so  called  because,  under  the 
Roman  Catholic  dispensation,  indulgences  were  granted  to 
those  who  entered  by  it  into  the  temple.  There  is  one 
gate  of  the  same  name  in  each  of  the  cathedrals  that  I have 
visited  in  this  country.  The  bronze  ornaments  upon  the 
doors  are  very  curious,  the  royal  arms  are  displayed,  and 
while  the  Christian  inscription,  in  Gothic  letters,  of  the 
word  Deus,  proclaims  the  true  God,  the  Arabic  letters  also 
testify  that  the  Mahometans  worshipped  him,  for  they  write, 
“ The  empire  belongs  to  God.” 

Within  the  temple  there  is  at  first  a sense  of  gloom, 
almost  of  oppression,  arising  from  the  vastness  of  the  area 
and  the  want  of  height.  The  roof  cannot  be  more  than  40 
or  50  feet  high,  while  the  floor  stretches  away  640  feet  in 
length  and  460  feet  in  breadth.  A thousand  columns  in 
long  lines,  like  trees  planted  in  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  are 
each  of  one  single  stone,  — the  spoils  of  temples  in  the  East 
and  the  West,  and  some  of  them  imperial  gifts,  and  hence 
a variety  of  colors  and  size,  showing  all  sorts  of  marbles, 
the  green  and  red  jasper,  black,  white  and  rose,  emerald 
and  porphyry.  Crossing  each  other,  at  right  angles,  these 
rows  of  pillars  form  nineteen  naves  one  way  and  twenty- 
nine  the  other ; long-drawn  aisles,  over  which  the  horse- 
shoe-shaped arches,  standing  one  upon  the  other  and  sup- 
porting the  roof,  produce  a marvellous  effect. 

The  Holy  of  Holies  in  the  mosque  was  the  Mihrab,  and 
it  has  been  preserved  in  the  converted  temple,  with  religious 


MOSQUE, 


90 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


care,  as  at  once  a curiosity  and  a memorial  that  the  Mahom- 
etan has  ceased  to  defile  these  courts.  It  is  a recess  in 
the  wall  of  the  temple,  in  which  the  Koran  was  kept,  and 
where  the  Kalif  came  to  say  his  prayers,  looking  out  of  a 
little  window  toward  Mecca.  It  is  a small  six-sided  room, 
about  twelve  feet  across,  the  floor  one  piece  of  marble,  and 
the  roof,  in  the  shape  of  a shell,  is  also,  we  were  assured,  of 
a single  block,  and  up  the  six  sides  rise  marble  pilasters,  the 
whole  adorned  with  strange  Arabic  art  and  mysterious 
inscriptions.  When  Hakem  was  Caliph  of  Cordova,  he 
sent  messengers  into  the  East  to  ask  for  skilful  artificers 
in  painting  glass  and  giving  this  strange  effect  to  tracery  in 
metals  and  stone ; for  there  is  in  mosaic  work,  when  well 
done,  something  superior  to  the  softest  painting,  and  quite 
incomprehensible.  The  workers  in  mosaic  came,  and  their 
skill  now  shines  in  this  miracle  of  Oriental  art,  which  has 
been  here  since  965,  and  is  as  fresh  and  beautiful  as  when 
it  shone  at  the  feast  of  the  Rhamadhan,  in  the  light  of  a 
thousand  lamps.  In  the  marble  floor  is  worn  a deep  groove, 
by  the  knees  of  devout  Mussulmans,  who  have  thus  gone 
around  it  while  at  their  devotions. 

On  the  sides  of  the  cathedral  are  many  chapels,  each  with 
its  altar,  its  pictures,  its  relics,  and  its  history.  By  one  of 
them,  once  a Moorish  sanctuary  paved  with  silver,  is  a rude 
painting  of  a crucifixion,  and  an  inscription  in  Spanish 
which  tells  us  that  — 

“ While  the  Mahometans  celebrated  their  orgies  in  this  temple,  a 
Christian  captive  uttered  the  name  of  Christ,  whom  he  held  in  his 
heart,  and  he  engraved  this  image  with  his  nails  on  the  hard  stone  of 
this  pillar,  for  which  his  death  has  purchased  this  aureole.” 

On  the  stone  column  is  etched  a crucifixipn  which  tradi- 
tion says  the  prisoner  scratched  in  with  his  finger  nails. 
The  stone  is  very  hard,  and  the  story  harder. 

Come  again  and  again,  and  this  strange  pile,  with  its 


CORDOVA. 


91 


thousand  columns  and  its  thousand  years  of  history,  grows 
on  you  with  every  visit.  We  come  from  a land  where  all  is 
fresh  and  new,  and-  these  old  temples  fill  us  with  awe.  But 
if  we  are  impressed  with  a ruin  as  in  Rome,  where  Paganism 
built  its  temples  to  become  the  sites  of  Christian  churches, 
which  themselves  have  been  buried  and  again  dug  up  to  be 
the  wonder  of  the  present  age,  how  much  more  impressive 
is  a building  still  fresh  and  unbroken  by  the  march  of  cen- 
turies, where  the  pomp  and  ceremony  of  a religion,  corrupt 
indeed,  yet  recognizing  God  the  Father  as  the  only  true 
God,  are  perpetuated  year  after  year  till  their  number  be- 
comes a thousand  years. 


92 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  IX, 


SEVILLE,  ITS  CATHEDRAL  AND  BULL-FIGHTS. 

OT  until  reaching  Seville  does  one  feel  what  a luxury  it 


is  to  live,  — just  to  breathe,  — to  inhale  the  delicious 
air  and  rejoice  in  being.  Other  climates  had  been  cold,  or 
damp,  or  chilly;  some  hot,  debilitating;  but  this  was  just 
right,  and  when  a man  comes  to  the  place  where  the 
weather  just  suits  him,  it  is  time  to  sit  down  and  enjoy  it. 
It  was  a privilege  to  be  any  thing  that  could  breathe  in  this 
delightful  clime.  It  is  the  latter  part  of  February.  If  one 
of  my  lungs  was  out  of  order,  or  both  of  them,  I would  stay 
here  till  they  were  well,  or  until  the  weather  became  too 
hot  for  comfort,  and  that  will  be  but  a few  weeks  hence. 

The  city  is  clean,  well-built,  and  in  the  evening  the  in- 
habitants throng  some  of  the  streets  so  as  to  make  it  diffi- 
cult to  walk.  The  courts  around  which  the  houses  are 
built  are  beautifully  adorned  with  flowers  and  shrubs,  and 
trees  ; in  warmer  weather  awnings  are  spread  over  them, 
and  here  the  family  enjoy  themselves  with  the  piano  and 
guitar,  the  song  and  the  dance.  Here,  too,  the  table  is 
spread,  and  all  Seville,  it  is  said,  takes  tea  out  of  doors. 

It  was  a dreadful  day  for  Seville,  and  indeed  for  Spain, 
when  the  Moors  were  driven  out  of  the  country ; they  had 
conquered  it,  and  ruled  eight  hundred  years.  Four  hun- 
dred thousand  Moors,  Jews  and  Arabs,  left  this  city  of 
Seville  in  a few  days  after  it  was  surrendered  to  St.  Fer- 
dinand. Wealth,  learning,  taste,  art,  and  the  charm  of 
Eastern  life  went  out  with  them,  and  Spain  has  been  lower 


LA  GERALDA,”  SEVILLE. 


94 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


in  the  scale  of  morals  and  manners  ever  since.  This  is  no 
compliment  to  Mahometanism.  To  compare  the  present 
condition  of  Spain  with  any  thing  that  has  gone  before  it, 
and  say  that  the  former  days  were  better  than  these,  is  say- 
ing very  little  for  the  better  times.  In  this  old  city  of 
Seville  we  found  the  Alcazar  or  palace,  being  the  first  spe- 
cimen of  Moorish  magnificence  we  had  seen.  It  consists 
of  a group  of  palaces,  on  the  banks  of  the  Guadalquiver, 
and  exhibits  the  same  style  of  architecture  and  mural  deco- 
rations that  are  so  much  admired  and  celebrated  in  the 
Alhambra.  Indeed,  the  pavements  and  columns  and  arches 
and  apartments  have  been  preserved  or  restored  with  so 
much  greater  care  than  the  Alhambra  itself,  that  the  latter 
appears  to  be  a feeble  example  of  Moorish  taste  and  skill, 
compared  with  these  glorious  rooms  in  Seville.  Fancy 
must  people  these  chambers  with  men  and  women,  of  flesh 
and  blood ; clothe  them  in  Oriental  and  gorgeous  raiment, 
surround  them  with  every  luxury  that  gold  and  labor  and 
power  can  give ; hang  these  passages  with  curtains  whose 
richness  has  not  been  excelled  by  any  thing  that  modern  art 
has  produced.  When  the  sleepy  janitor  opens  the  outer 
gate  and  leads  you  through  these  deserted  and  empty  halls, 
in  which  your  footfalls  make  the  only  sound,  into  apart- 
ments that  for  centuries  have  been  silent  as  the  grave,  yet 
on  every  hand  is  beauty  of  coloring  and  carving  and  curi- 
ously wrought  adorning  that  you  must  pause  to  admire ; 
even  in  the  midst  of  admiration  one  cannot  but  mourn  that 
the  barbaric  splendor  of  Moorish  glory  has  departed,  and 
the  degenerate  race  of  effete  Spanish  civilization  has  taken 
its  place.  A thousand  wives  of  a proud  Moor  once  made 
these  walls  jocund  with  their  mirth,  and  the  adjoining  gar- 
dens and  the  beautiful  Guadalquiver  were  gay  with  their 
revels  and  song,  and  the  moral  tone  of  the  palace  was  as 
high,  and  the  happiness  of  the  people  just  as  great  as 
when  a dissolute  queen  and  a profligate  court,  and  an  igno- 


SEVILLE. 


95 


rant,  depraved,  and  impoverished  people,  constituted  the 
government  and  inhabitants  of  a nominally  Christian 
kingdom. 

Instead  of  a mosque,  is  the  cathedral  of  Seville.  It  is 
the  noblest  example  of  the  Gothic  ecclesiastical  architecture 
in  the  world.  St.  Peter’s  at  Rome  produces  no  such  effect 
on  the  soul  when  first  you  enter  it.  The  Cologne  cathe- 
dral is  nearer  it  in  power.  I have  no  superstitious  feeling 
that  compels  me  to  be  awed  by  a place.  But  I cannot 
enter  this  temple  without  worshipping ! Instantly,  as  you 
stand  within  its  walls,  its  giant  solemn  columns  rising 
around,  scarcely  visible  in  the  twilight  at  the  noon  of  a 
brilliant  southern  day,  its  vastness,  its  amazing  height,  the 
roof  like  a firmament,  and  resting  on  arches,  dividing  it  into 
sixty-eight  compartments,  one  feels  that  this  surely  ought 
to  be  none  other  than  the  house  of  God.  High  mass  was 
celebrated  during  one  of  my  many  visits  to  the  cathedral. 
When  the  tinkling  of  the  bell  gave  the  signal  for  the 
“ elevation  of  the  host,”  the  faithful,  wherever  they  chanced 
to  be  in  the  vast  area,  fell  on  their  knees  and  silently 
adored  the  idol  which  superstition  had  just  held  aloft  for 
the  worship  of  an  ignorant  multitude.  A woman  entered 
one  of  the  chapels  and  knelt  before  an  image  of  the  Virgin 
and  poured  out  her  soul  in  prayer.  As  if  unconscious  that 
spectators  were  all  around  her,  she  wept  and  told  her 
beads. 

The  women  of  Seville  are  celebrated  for  their  beauty.  In 
the  Central  Park  of  New  York,  Hyde  Park  of  London,  or 
the  Bois  de  Boulogne  of  Paris,  you  notice  that  many  of  the 
most  splendid  equipages  carry  very  plain  women,  and  one 
often  admires  the  compensation  system  that  gives  the  signs 
of  wealth  to  some  and  saves  the  good  lodks  for  others.  But 
you  may  stand  by  the  fashionable  drive  of  Seville  and  the 
first  hundred  carriages  that  pass  shall  have  four  handsome 


96 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN, 


women  in  each  of  them.  As  “you would  scarce  expect  one 
of  my  age  ” to  be  a connoisseur  in  this  matter,  I will  give 
in  the  words  of  my  guide  the  types  of  Spanish  beauty : 


She  wept  and  told  her  Beads. 


“ Deep  blue-black  eyes,  adormilados  sometimes,  and  at 
others  full  of  flashes,  each  a puhalada ; a small  forehead : 
raven  hair,  long  and  silky,  which  they  might  almost  turn 
at  night  into  a balmy  soft  pillow,  and  a long  flowing  man- 


SEVILLE. 


97 


tilla  by  day  ; a peculiar  meneo , sal,  and  indescribable  charm, 
naturalness,  and  grace  in  every  movement,  together  with 
liveliness  and  repartee,  — form  the  principal  features  of  their 
appearance  and  character.” 

The  dance  and  the  song,  the  bull-fight  more  than  any 
thing  else  in  the  season  of  it,  make  this  city  the  home  of 
the  gayest,  wildest,  most  dissolute  men  and  women  in  the 
south  of  Europe.  Corinth,  in  the  days  of  Venus-worship, 
was  not  more  wholly  given  up  to  the  lust  of  the  flesh  and 
the  pride  of  life  than  Seville  to-day.  Yet  it  was  once  the 
emporium  of  the  New  World.  From  its  port  set  sail  the 
fleet  that  carried  Columbus  to  a land  beyond  the  sea  and 
brought  back  the  wealth  of  the  Western  Ind.  It  has  been 
the  residence  of  kings ; and  successive  dynasties,  faiths,  and 
customs  have  in  turn  made  Seville  their  capital  and  terres- 
trial paradise.  It  is  girt  on  every  side  by  fertile  plains,  the 
orange  and  lemon  trees  hang  loaded  all  the  year  with  their 
golden  fruit,  and  the  silver  river,  whose  name  is  poetry  and 
whose  banks  are  haunted  with  the  memories  of  Eastern 
delights,  washes  the  feet  of  this  beautiful  city. 

If  there  was  ever  an  original  to  Byron’s  Don  Juan,  and 
there  was  perhaps  an  original  to  him  as  to  Cooper’s  Spy  or 
Irving's  Schoolmaster,  then  the  tradition  may  be  true  that 
points  to  a low  white- washed  house,  close"  to  San  Leandro, 
and  belonging  to  the  nuns  of  that  convent,  where  that 
graceless  scamp  once  lived.  And  the  “ Barber  of  Seville,” 
of  course,  had  his  shop  somewhere  in  town,  and  it  has  been 
conveniently  located  in  the  same  neighborhood,  so  that 
when  you  visit  the  St.  Thomas  Square  you  can  see  them 
both.  They  are  nothing  to  see,  unless  you  are  at  that  age 
when  the  poetry  of  Byron  has  charms  they  lose  as  you  get 
older  and  wiser. 

The  house  of  Murillo,  the  painter  of  Spain,  and  not  far 
from  being  the  painter  of  the  world,  is  an  object  of  attrac- 

7 


98 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


tion,  and  Seville  has  it,  and  also  some  of  the  greatest  pic- 
tures of  this  master.  The  Queen  of  Spain  would  send  the 
Pope  a present  worthy  of  a sovereign  to  give  to  another, 
and  she  sent  two  of  Murillo’s  paintings.  The  Pope  had 
them  copied  in  mosaic,  and  sent  the  copies  to  the  Queen  of 
Spain.  It  is  surpassingly  wonderful  that  stone  can  be  set 
so  skilfully  as  to  make  a picture  with  all  the  softness  of 
shade  and*  color  that  belongs  to  the  finest  work  in  oil.  We 
will  look  up  some  Murillos  on  our  way,  but  just  now  we  are 
near  the  site  of  the  Old  Moorish  Castle,  which  is  not  more 
distinguished  for  the  tales  of  Oriental  life  and  love  and  war 
than  it  is  for  being  the  place  in  which  the  Inquisition  was 
first  established.  What  tales  of  horror  its  stones  might  tell 
if  they  were  permitted  to  cry  out ! Nowhere  on  this  planet 
has  the  notion  of  converting  men  to  believe  a lie,  by  roasting 
them  if  they  will  not  believe,  been  carried  to  a higher  finish 
than  in  Spain.  In  each  of  its  chief  cities  a spot  is  still 
cherished  with  affectionate  regard  by  the  faithful,  where  in 
the  good  old  times  of  their  fathers  the  auto-da-fe  was  cele- 
brated with  pompous  processions,  when  priests  and  soldiers 
and  hosts  of  men  and  women  marched  to  the  public  square 
with  a company  of  those  who  had  been  condemned  to  the 
stake ! The  Quemadaro , or  burning  place  of  Seville,  is 
outside  of  the  city,  and  the  plain  is  called  the  Field  of 
St.  Sebastian.  Aceldama  would  be  a more  appropriate 
name. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Guadalquiver,  near  the  Moorish 
Alcazar,  stands  a famous  pile  called  the  Tower  of  Gold,  as 
well  so  called  from  its  ancient  color  as  the  uses  to  which  it 
has  been  put.  Its  summit  gives  an  outlook  far  upon  the 
plain  across  the  river,  and  in  times  of  old  it  has  been  a 
fortress  of  huge  strength,  to  resist  the  enemy  when  threat- 
ening the  palace  itself.  It  was  built  by  the  Moors  as  a 
treasure-house.  When  the  Spaniards  got  possession  of  it, 


SEVILLE. 


99 


Don  Pedro  made  it  a prison  for  his  friends,  men  and  women, 
who  fell  under  his  disfavor.  And  then  came  a- time  when  it 
was  wanted  for  the  purpose  of  holding  heaps  of  gold,  for 
when  Columbus  had  gone  from  Seville  to  a new  world,  and 
the  stream  of  gold  began  to  flow  back  to  Spain,  this  Seville, 
which  had  sent  out  the  great  discoverer,  received  the  return- 
ing treasures,  and  this  tower  became  the  reservoir  to  contain 
it.  Eight  millions  of  ducats  and  more  have  been  stored 
here  at  one  time,  private  and  public  funds,  and  the  mon- 
archs  of  Spain  often  put  their  arms  deep  into  the  bins  of 
gold,  and  helped  themselves. 

The  decline  and  fall  of  Spain  would  be  the  fitting  theme 
for  another  Gibbon,  and  the  lesson  it  teaches  might  be 
studied  with  advantage  in  the  new  world,  whose  discovery 
had  so  much  to  do  with  enriching,  and  then  destroying  the 
kingdom.  It  is  very  hard  to  speculate  or  philosophize  on 
the  causes  that  led  to  the  prostration  of  a great  power  like 
this,  when  the  element  of  religion  is  excluded  from  the 
study.  Without  the  demoralizing  influences  of  a political 
religion,  there  were  causes  enough  to  work  the  ruin  of 
Spain,  and  foremost  among  these  was  the  influx  of  wealth, 
that  made  every  man  greedy  of  a chance  to  get  rich,  at  the 
expense  of  the  State.  It  is  useful  to  recur  to  it  now,  and  in  our 
own  country,  because  the  same  causes  are  working  mightily 
in  the  same  direction,  and  producing  the  same  deplorable 
effects.  It  was  always  so,  but  increased  opportunities  in- 
crease temptation  and  multiply  the  consequences.  Men 
now  seek  and  obtain  office  not  for  honor  and  the  power  of 
usefulness,  but  to  get  rich.  Government  in  the  hands  of 
such  men  is  an  instrument  of  robbery,  an  engine  of  corrup- 
tion, and  it  has  in  itself  disease  and  death.  The  influx  of 
gold  from  California  has  corrupted  the  American  people  in 
the  same  way,  if  not  to  the  same  degree  that  the  Mexican 
gold  and  silver  demoralized  Spain. 


100 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Antanazio  proposed  to  drive  out  of  town,  along  the  banks 
of  the  river,  to  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  city.  A charming 
ride  of  an  hour,  in  a delicious  winter  day,  without  the  winter, 
brings  us  to  the  ruins  of  an  amphitheatre  built  by  Scipio 
Africanus,  a.  u.  c.  546.  Here,  away  in  this  end  of  the 
then  known  world,  three  men  were  born,  each  one  of  whom 
became  a Roman  emperor ! The  glory  of  nations  was  once 
over  all  the  palaces,  temples,  and  theatres  that  distinguish 
this  spot.  But  now  the  ruins  themselves  are  ruined.  We 
can  mark,  or  rather  we  can  believe  when  we  are  pointed  to, 
the  places  where  the  nobles  sat  to  see  the  games  of  blood  in 
the  arena  of  the  amphitheatre,  the  dungeons  of  the  wild 
beasts  are  laid  open,  and  the  chambers  where  gladiators 
stripped  for  the  fight,  that  gladdened  the  hearts  of  men  and 
women  two  thousand  years  ago.  Yet  they  were  quite  as 
rational  and  refined,  quite  as  Christianable  and  decent,  as 
the  bull-fights  of  to-day. 

“ Have  you  been  to  see  a bull-fight  ? ” was  one  of  the  first 
questions  put  to  me  by  a delicate  little  lady-friend  whom  I 
met. 

“ No ; have  you  ? ” I answered  and  asked  in  the  same 
breath. 

Her  husband  was  sitting  by ; a splendid  soldier-like  look- 
ing man,  six  feet  high,  and  well  proportioned,  who  could 
take  the  bull  by  the  horns  when  he  pleased,  and  would  do 
it  were  there  any  occasion.  He  did  not  wait  for  his  pretty 
wife  to  answer  my  inquiry,  but  laughingly  replied : 

“ Yes,  she  has,  and  I went  with  her,  but  could  not  stand 
it ; the  sight  made  me  sick,  and  I had  to  leave  in  disgust ; 
but  she  staid  it  out,  and  saw  — how  many  killed  was  it, 
dear?” 

“ Six  bulls  and  five  horses,”  she  said  with  a smile  of 
supreme  delight. 

“ Killed ! ” I cried. 


THE  BULL  FIGHT. 


102 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


“Yes,  killed,”  they  both  answered,  and  he  went  on  to 
say,  “ butchered  ; — horrid ! ” 

“ Tell  me  all  about  it,  please ; I would  like  to  hear , at 
least.” 

“ Well,”  said  the  amiable  husband,  “ if  you  are  going  to 
talk  bull , I will  go  into  the  reading-room  and  have  a smoke.” 
He  went  out,  and  she  went  on : — 

“ These  men”  she  said ; “ but  I ought  to  say,  you  men, 
are  so  squeamish ; you  faint  at  the  sight  of  a little  blood ; 
what  would  you  do  in  a fight,  a real  battle  with  bullets  and 
brains  flying  all  about  you  and  men  bleeding  to  death  by 
hundreds,  if  you  can’t  bear  to  see  a bull  cut  down  or  a horse 
ripped  up.  Why,  I saw  a horse  run  all  about  the  bull-ring 
with  his  entrails  trailing  on  the  ground,  and  a bull  with  his 
hamstrings  cut,  and  making  splendid  fight  on  his  knees. 
You  must  go  and  see  it;  now  there’s  my  husband,  poor 
fellow,  he  ought  not  to  go  to  such  places,  it  doesn’t  agree 
with  him  ! ” 

“ Well,  I would  rather  have  you  describe  a fight,”  said  I, 
“ than  to  go  and  see  it.  I have  no  particular  taste  for 
blood,  but  any  thing  would  be  agreeable  that  you  w'ould 
undertake  to  describe.” 

“ Thank  you.  You  have  seen  the  ring ; every  city  in  Spain 
has  its  bull-ring : a circular  theatre,  open  to  the  sky,  with 
seats  rising  from  the  arena  in  the  centre.  The  seats  on 
the  east  and  southerly  quarters  are  covered  to  protect  the 
grandees,  while  the  multitude  sitting  in  the  sun  hold  fans 
before  their  faces  or  take  it  as  it  comes.  This  ring  will 
seat  some  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  people,  and  a gayer, 
grander  sight  it  is  rare  to  see,  than  these  bright-colored, 
dressy  people;  the  women  are  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
world ; they  are  far  handsomer  than  American  women,  you 
know  they  are,  don’t  you  ? ” 

“ Perhaps  so,  present  company  excepted,  and  one  or  two 


BULL-FIGHTS. 


103 


others : but  pray  go  on,  — I am  more  anxious  to  hear  of 
bulls  than  women.” 

“ A blast  of  trumpets  sounds  the  hour  for  the  spectacle 
to  begin,  and  the  eager  shout  of  the  multitude  shows  their 
impatience  to  see  the  fun.  A great  show  precedes,  the 
magistrates  riding  in  with  a troop  to  give  something  like 
dignity  to  the  occasion,  and  when  they  have  swept  around 
the  circle  and  retired,  the  spectators  sit  in  breathless  silence. 
Two  mounted  men,  called  picadors , ride  in,  each  with  a 
long  spear  at  rest,  and  take  their  position,  some  fifty  feet 
in  front  of  the  gateway  through  which  the  beasts  are  to 
enter.  All  things  being  ready,  and  the  breathless  throng 
thirsting  for  the  fray,  the  huge  door  unfolds,  and  a fierce 
bull  dashes  into  the  arena.  The  multitude  greet  him  with 
a shout  of  ecstasy.  He  makes  straight  upon  the  picadors, 
if  he  is  a bull  of  spirit.  There’s  a great  difference  in  the 
animals  ; some  of  them  go  scouring  all  around  the  ring,  head 
down  and  tail  up,  pursued  by  the  picador ; but  a real  bull 
of  Navarre  — they  are  the  fiercest  and.  pluckiest  — pitches 
right  ahead  for  the  first  enemy  he  sees.  The  horseman 
levels  his  lance  to  meet  the  tremendous  monster  as  he 
comes ; sometimes  catches  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  the 
blood  spouts  from  the  wound.  But  he  does  not  stop  for 
trifles.  It  takes  more  than  a scratch  to  stop  a good  bull ; 
he  rushes  on  and  sometimes  buries  the  iron  deeper  in  his 
flesh,  or  tosses  it  off,  and  catching  the  horse  on  his  horns, 
hoists  him  and  his  rider  into  the  air,  and  as  they  come  down 
in  a heap,  he  drives  on  to  meet  other  antagonists  lying  in 
wait,  and  ready  to  do  him  mischief.  The  very  last  time  I 
was  there,  it  was  this  sight  that  made  my  husband  sick ; 
the  horse  scrambled  up,  and  actually  went  trotting  around 
the  ring,  when  there  was  more  of  him  outside  than  in,  he 
was  so  terribly  ripped  open  by  that  one  lunge  of  those 
splendid  horns.  I was  in  hopes  that  the  bull  would  beat 


104 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  whole  of  them ; now  he  met  the  men  on  foot,  with  red 
cloaks  on  their  arms,  which  they  shake  to  attract  the  excited 
gentleman’s  attention.  He  sees  them  and  bears  down  gal- 
lantly upon  them  like  a Monitor  or  a Miantonomoh,  and 
the  wily  chulos , or  cloakers,  leap  dexterously  to  one  side, 
and  sometimes  they  jump  over  the  barriers  among  the 
spectators,  where  they  have  been  followed  by  the  raging 
bull  himself.  This  is  not  often,  however.  He  has  still 
another  set  of  fighters  to  drive  out  of  the  ring.  These  are 
the  bander iller os,  who  throw  fiery  darts  into  the  bull’s 
neck ; these  darts  are  provided  with  a powder  squib  which 
explodes  when  it  strikes  in  the  flesh,  and  puts  his  majesty 
into  a horrid  rage:  by  this  time,  the  bull,  hunted  by  all 
these  foes,  charging  upon  one  and  speared  by  another,  is 
becoming  exhausted,  or  the  spectators  are  wearied  with  the 
sameness  of  the  fight,  and  want  a new  victim.  The  mata- 
dor, or  chief  butcher,  then  enters  the  field  in  a full  court 
dress,  with  a scarlet  robe  in  one  hand  and  a sharp  stiletto 
in  the  other.  He  brandishes  the  red  skirt  to  draw  the  bull 
on,  and  as  he  comes  he  aims  a stab  at  his  neck,  and,  if  he 
is  a master  at  his  work,  takes  him  in  the  right  spot,  and 
the  huge  fellow  falls  dead  at  his  victor’s  feet.  Once  I saw 
the  matador  miss  his  aim,  the  bull  wheeled  suddenly,  one 
horn  took  him  in  the  side,  and  he  went  over  the  head  of 
the  bull  and  came  down  a mangled  corpse.  Then  a shout 
went  up  as  if  to  shake  the  skies.  I felt  badly  myself,  but 
these  Spanish  people  seemed  to  relish  it  amazingly,  and  I 
suppose  they  get  used  to  it.  But  the  bull  generally  gets 
the  worst  of  it.  When  he  has  had  the  finishing  stroke,  a 
team  of  mules  is  driven  in,  the  dead  beast  is  hitched  on  by 
a hook  and  chain  and  drawn  out  rapidly,  and  the  ring  is  clear 
for  another  fight.  All  this  has  not  taken  half  an  hour,  and 
a similar  scene  is  repeated  until  four,  five,  or  six  bulls,  and 
ofteri  as  many  horses,  are  killed. 


BULL-FIGHTS. 


105 


“ When  a good  hit  is  made  the  spectators  rise  en  masse 
and  shout  their  applause.  This  is  the  triumph  of  the  glad- 
iators in  the  sand.  A little  riband  on  the  bull’s  mane  is  a 
prize  which  the  combatant  seeks  to  capture,  and  this  he 
presents  to  his  lady-love  as  the  evidence  of  his  bravery  and 
skill.  The  ladies  are  evidently  quite  as  enthusiastic  in 
their  love  of  the  national  sport  as  the  men,  and  they  show 
it  by  clapping  their  little  hands  or  fans  and  crying  bravo , 
as  eagerly  as  any.” 

44  And  do  you  really  find  pleasure  in  this  bloody  spec- 
tacle ? ” I inquired  somewhat  anxiously,  for  I had  been  quite 
interested  in  her  graphic  description,  and  could  readily  see 
that  she  had  spoken  with  feeling. 

44  Well,  I must  say  that  I do  like  the  excitement  of  it. 
I never  could  see  any  sport  in  looking  on  when  two  or  three 
or  four  horses  were  thrashed  to  make  them  run  faster ; yet 
many  women  think  it  the  height  of  enjoyment  to  see  a 
horse-race.  The  noblest  men  of  England  delight  to  stand 
in  a ring  around  two  men  who  beat  each  others’  faces  into 
a jelly,  and  they  call  it  the  4 manly  art’!  The  ladies  of 
New  York  go  to  theatres  and  operas  with  their  necks  and 
more  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  men,  and  the  ladies  look  at 
the  licentious  dancing  of  ballet  girls  who  have  been  tortured 
into  the  art  of  showing  themselves  disgustingly  to  every 
virtuous  taste.  And  I have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  in 
all  parts  of  the  world  people  have  their  own  ideas  about 
amusement,  and  there  is  no  great  difference  in  the  moral 
of  it.  For  my  part  I like  a good  fair  stand-up  bull-fight 
more  than  any  of  them.” 

My  fair  enthusiast  rested ; I thanked  her  for  the  informa- 
tion she  had  given,  and  added : 

44 1 agree  with  you  entirely,  my  dear  madam,  as  to  the 
moral  of  the  sports  you  speak  of ; only  I think  the  New* 
York  amusements  are  the  most  corrupt  and  corrupting. 


io  6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN, 


And  when  I write  on  4 Bull-Fights  in  Seville,  I shall  do 
my  best  to  put  it  in  your  words.” 

“ If  you  do,”  said  she,  “ send  me  a copy  of  your  book ; 
I want  my  husband  to  read  it.  He  can’t  bear  bull- 
fights.” 


SEVILLE. 


107 


CHAPTER  X. 

SEVILLE. 

■pvON  MIGUEL  DE  MANARA,  a Spanish  rake,  one 
of  many  like  the  Don  Juan  who  stands  as  type  of  his 
race,  having  spent  his  life  in  the  way  rakes  love  to  live, 
undertook  to  be  religious  in  his  later  years.  He  had  sowed 
his  wild  oats,  and  never  got  much  of  a crop,  and  now  that 
death  was  likely  to  call  for  him  soon,  he  thought  to  get 
ready  for  his  coming  by  making  over  to  some  pious  uses 
what  he  had  not  spent  upon  his  lusts.  According  to  the 
theory  of  that  church  which  takes  care  of  all  Spanish  souls, 
he  made  a sure  thing  of  it  by  founding  a hospital,  to  which 
was  given  the  name  of  u La  Caridad.”  A brotherhood, 
whose  special  vocation  was  to  minister  to  persons  sentenced 
to  death,  and  to  bury  their  bodies,  took  charge  of  it.  It  is 
famous  far  beycnd  Seville  and  Spain.  Its  patients  are 
tended  by  young  men  of  good  families  .in  the  city,  who  min- 
ister by  turns  to  the  sick  and  dying  brought  to  this  Charity. 
Perhaps  some  of  the  young  gentlemen  nurses,  like  the 
founder,  have  an  eye  to  a compromise  of  their  own  infirm- 
ities, by  giving  attention  to  these  miserably  sick  poor. 

But  the  fame  of  the  hospital  is  so  great  because  it  has 
within  its  walls  some  of  the  noblest  paintings  in  the  world ! 

The  building  stands  in  an  obscure  part  of  the  town,  and 
we  had  a long  search  to  find  it,  Antanazio,  our  guide,  being 
quite  unused  to  take  his  travellers  to  hospitals  and  out-of- 
the-way  churches,  as  theatres  and  bull-fights  and  fandangoes 
among  the  gypsies  are  much  more  attractive.  But  we  found 


io8 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


it;  an  old  woman  janitor  let  us  in,  and  led  us  to  the  chapel 
where  the  art-treasures  are  to  be  seen. 

This  church  is  the  guardian  of  the  masterpieces  of  Mu- 
rillo. His  manner  is  as  distinctly  marked  as  Raphael’s 
or  Titian’s,  and  the  power  of  none  of  the  Italian  masters, 
unless  we  except  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  is  greater  than  his. 
It  was  difficult  to  believe  this  in  Italy,  where  Murillos  are 
comparatively  rare,  but  here,  where  alone  his  greatest  and 
best  works  are  to  be  found,  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  he  is 
among  the  first.  Several  of  his  pictures  in  this  church  are 
of  St.  John,  and  in  one  of  them  an  angel  assists  the  saint 
in  carrying  a sick  man,  and  in  another  the  same  saint  washes 
the  feet  of  a pauper.  The  Miracle  of  the  Loaves  and  Fishes 
is  a wonderfully  faithful  presentation  of  that  sublime  scene. 
But  the  great  picture,  the  one  we  specially  came  to  see,  is 
“ Moses  striking  the  Rock  in  the  Desert.”  Its  eloquence 
tells  and  pleads  its  own  story : a famished  multitude  press- 
ing to  the  gushing  stream  and  gathering  the  precious  waters 
in  their  hands  ; mothers  drinking,  while  their  children,  with 
parched  lips,  are  pleading  for  the  life-saving  draught ; even 
the  beasts  declare  their  joy  at  the  sight  of  water,  and  grat- 
itude lights  up  the  faces  of  the  thronging  Israelites.  But 
the  central,  majestic  figure  in  the  group,  on  which  the 
painter’s  high  art  is  lavished  with  a wealth  of  skill,  is  Moses, 
with  folded  hands  and  upturned  eyes,  acknowledging  the 
goodness  and  the  power  which  this  miracle,  almost  as  won- 
drous to  him  as  to  his  people,  has  so  suddenly  revealed. 
Near  him  is  his  brother  Aaron,  scarcely  less  than  Moses  in 
the  scene,  for  he,  priest-like,  is  still  in  the  act  of  prayer. 
And  in  the  people  every  form  and  feature  of  human  life 
and  feeling  are  portrayed,  each  after  its  own  kind,  with  the 
hand  of  a master. 

There  are  several  pictures  here  by  others,  as  well  as  other 
Murillos,  that  I have  not  space  to  mention.  Marshal  Soult 
carried  off  five  of  the  great  pictures  by  Murillo,  and  two 


SEVILLE. 


109 


of  them,  44  Abraham  entertaining  the  Angels,”  and  the 
44  Prodigal  Son,”  were  bought  by  the  Duke  of  Sutherland. 
Wellington  recovered,  at  Waterloo,  some  of  Soult’s  spoils 
of  the  galleries  of  Spain.  The  French  are  great  thieves 
when  they  get  among  pictures  or  statuary.  They  once  had 
the  Venus  de  Medicis  boxed  and  ready  for  Paris.  War  is 
pretty  much  the  same  game  all  the  world  over,  and  always. 

The  picture-gallery  of  Seville  was  saved  from  French 
spoliation  by  the  forethought  of  a Spanish  amateur,  who 
sent  all  the  paintings  to  Gibraltar  before  the  French  reached 
Seville.  We  found,  to  our  disappointment,  that  the  museum 
was  closed  for  repairs,  and  a special  order  from  the  gov- 
ernor was  necessary.  Instead  of  sending  the  order,  he 
promised  to  send  us  a guide  to  conduct  us  through  the 
gallery  the  "next  day.  An  hour  after  the  time  he  came,  and 
the  only  service  he  came  to  perform  was  to  lead  us  to  the 
door  of  the  museum,  which  was  close  to  our  lodgings,  and 
then  to  receive  his  fees  for  this  needless  service.  That  was 
very  Spanish.  The  porter  then  admitted  us  and  received 
his  fees.  Another  led  us  across  the  court  into  the  hall 
where  the  pictures  were  standing  along  the  walls,  unhung, 
and  he  received  his  fees.  When  the  convents  in  Spain  were 
suppressed,  the  best  pictures  among  them  were  gathered 
into  this  museum.  Murillo  painted  some  of  his  finest  works 
for  the  Capuchin  convent,  which  stood  near  the  Cordova 
gate.  One  of  the  sweetest  and  most  perfect  of  paintings 
is  that  of  the  two  saints  of  Seville,  the  maidens  Justa  and 
Rufina,  who  held  up  the  giralda,  or  tower  of  the  cathedral, 
when  it  was  likely  to  be  blown  down  in  a tempest.  In  the 
days  of  Pagan  Spain  a procession  was  passing  through  the 
streets  bearing  an  image  of  Venus,  to  which  the  people 
made  homage.  Two  young  women,  lately  converted  to  the 
Christian  religion,  by  name  Justa  and  Rufina,  refused  to 
worship  the  idol,  and  the  multitude  in  their  madness  made 
martyrs  of  them  on  the  spot.  When  the  Christians  became 


no 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


masters  of  the  city,  the  maidens  became  its  tutelar  saints, 
and  are  painted  as  holding  the  giralda  in  their  hands,  in 
honor  of  their  kind  interposition  in  a storm. 

Here  is  Murillo’s  first  and  last  page  of  the  gospel,  — the 
Annunciation  is  the  first  page,  with  the  beauty  and  joyful 
hope  of  the  motherhood  of  him  who  is  the  desire  of  all 
nations ; the  last  page  is  the  Mother  of  Jesus  weeping  over 
the  death  of  him  who  was  to  have  redeemed  Israel.  The 
St.  Thomas  giving  alms,  by  Murillo,  has  been  praised  by 
the  best  critics  as  not  excelled  by  any  of  his  works.  Wilkie 
placed  it  among  the  finest. 

It  is  a question  often  asked,  and  never  answered,  Why  can 
we  not  have  these  pictures,  or  such  as  these,  in  the  Western 
World  ? Few  of  the  many  who  would  enjoy  and  appreciate 
them  ever  can  come  to  Spain  or  Italy,  and  must  they  live 
and  die  without  the  sight  of  all  these  glorious  works  of  art  ? 
It  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  have  copies  made  of  the  most 
celebrated  and  magnificent  pictures,  and  transported  to  New 
York,  into  a national  gallery.  Copies  may  be  made  so  as 
to  challenge  comparison  with  the  original,  and  to  give  a fair 
idea  of  the  distinctive  manner  of  each  of  the  artists.  It 
does  not  require  the  same  genius  to  make  a perfect  copy 
that  it  does  to  conceive  and  give  birth  to  the  original.  And 
there  are  no  living  artists,  and  have  been  none  in  the  last 
three  hundred  years,  to  paint  character,  soul,  thought,  feel- 
ing, as  those  men  did  whom  we  call  the  Old  Masters.  We 
have  as  great  painters  now  as  they.  But  not  in  their  line 
of  things.  England  and  France  and  America  have  had, 
and  now  have,  artists  whose  works  could  not  have  been 
produced  by  Da  Vinci,  Giotto,  Raphael,  Michael  Angelo, 
Titian,  Carlo  Dolce,  or  Murillo.  But  there  is  no  one  alive 
now  to  paint  the  Last  Supper,  the  Judgment,  the  Trans- 
figuration, the  Charles  V.  on  horseback,  or  the  Smitten 
Rock,  comparable  with  those  majestic  transcripts  of  senti- 
ment which  stand  up  in  the  world  of  art  among  man’s 


SEVILLE. 


Ill 


works,  as  Niagara  and  Mont  Blanc  are  sublime  among  the 
works  of  God. 

After  writing  the  account  of  the  bull-fight  in  a former  chap- 
ter, it  occurred  to  me  that  you  might  ask  whether  I went  to 
see  the  sport  myself,  or  relied  altogether  on  the  descriptions 
of  the  ladies  and  others.  That  is  a fair  question,  and  I am 
therefore  obliged  to  say  that  I did  not ; that  I have  never 
seen  a bull-fight.  Three  reasons  prevented  me  from  going. 
First,  they  are  usually  to  be  seen  only  on  Sunday,  and  I 
never  go  to  places  of  amusement  on  that  day,  at  home  or 
abroad.  Secondly,  I have  no  taste  for  sights  of  blood,  and 
would  rather  go  the  other  way  than  into  the  bull-ring  at  any 
time.  And  thirdly  and  lastly,  in  the  way  of  reasons  for  not 
going,  there  was  not  a bull-fight  while  I was  there ! It 
was  and  is  yet  the  winter  season,  when  the  weather  is  cool 
compared  with  spring  and  summer,  and  the  bulls  do  not 
fight  well  except  when  the  weather  is  hot.  The  “ season,” 
which  is  even  more  distinctly  marked  than  that  of  opera  in 
Paris  or  New  York,  begins  the  first  Sunday  after  Lent,  and 
a performance  takes  place  every  Sunday  afterwards,  if  the 
weather  permits,  till  the  height  of  summer  suspends  it  for 
a few  weeks  when  the  heat  is  excessive.  It  is  resumed  from 
the  latter  part  of  August  until  the  first  of  October.  Then 
the  fall  and  winter  are  made  dull  by  its  absence,  and  the 
Spaniards  long  for  the  return  of  hot  weather  and  the 
beasts. 

There  is  a great  deal  of  exaggeration  in  the  descriptions 
given  by  those  who  enjoy  the  sport.  The  horses  selected 
for  the  sacrifice  are  miserable  jades,  that  are  fit  for  nothing 
else  but  to  be  killed,  and  the  bulls  are  rarely  so  fierce  as  to 
be  dangerous,  unless  goaded  or  provoked  into  phrensy  by 
the  tricks  of  the  combatants.  The  men  who  go  into  the 
fight  are  all  hired  butchers  or  fighters,  who  are  paid  regular 
salaries,  like  actors  in  a theatre,  and  they  make  a business 
of  it.  And  so  universal  is  the  rage  of  the  people  to  see 


1 12 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


this,  the  national  sport  and  pastime,  that  the  ring  must  fur- 
nish seats  for  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  thousand  people,  and 
the  price  of  admission  for  such  a multitude  readily  supplies 
the  means  to  meet  the  great  expenses  of  the  entertainment. 

One  of  the  most  curious  facts  developed  by  the  bull-fight 
is  the  fondness  that  women  have  for  such  scenes.  It  is  no 
fiction  that  ladies,  whose  refinement  cannot  be  called  in 
question,  are  in  raptures  when  the  fight  is  the  most  savage 
and  bloody.  It  always  was  so.  In  the  amphitheatres  of 
Italy,  when  martyr  Christians  were  compelled  to  fight  with 
wild  beasts,  the  fairest  and  proudest  of  women  were  among 
the  spectators,  who  looked  on  with  delight  when  their  fellow- 
creatures  were  torn  limb  from  limb.  I have  often  heard  it 
said,  here  and  elsewhere,  that  women  are  more  fond  of 
these  bloody  spectacles  than  men  are.  We  know  they  are 
more  sympathetic  with  suffering,  and  in  the  hospital  and 
chamber  of  sickness  and  anguish,  they  minister  with  a long- 
suffering  patience  and  fortitude  from  which  the  sterner  stuff 
that  men  are  supposed  to  be  made  of  revolts  at  once,  or 
soon  shrinks  worn  out,  “ used  up,”  as  we  say. 

What  is  the  effect  of  these  scenes  of  blood  and  butchery 
on  the  national  character?  In  the  streets  the  boys  play 
bull-fight : one  holds  up  a red  handkerchief  and  shakes  it  irl 
the  face  of  another  boy,  who  makes  a lunge  at  him  with  his 
head,  and  then  pursues  him,  and  another  sets  off  after  him , 
and  so  the  bull-ring  is  enacted  in  the  highway.  As  all  the 
large  towns  have  bull-rings,  and  the  poorest  classes  of  peo- 
ple manage  to  get  money  enough  to  see  the  show,  and  the 
country  boy  can  give  his  girl  no  greater  treat  than  to  take 
her  to  a bull-fight,  the  thing  is  in  the  widest  sense  national, 
and  its  influence  reaches  down  to  the  lowest  ranks,  while 
it  is  the  pet  of  the  nobility  and  gentry.  And  its  effect 
must  be  degrading,  brutifying,  and  demoralizing.  If  there 
were  any  thing  in  the  Spanish  character  to  work  upon,  for 
good  or  evil,  the  influence  of  such  a decided  national  pas- 


SEVILLE. 


”3 

time  would  be  more  distinctly  pronounced.  But  the  sense- 
less pride  of  the  Spaniard,  — pride  with  nothing  to  be  proud 
of ; pride  with  idleness,  ignorance,  and  poverty ; pride  of 
the  meanest  and  most  contemptible  sort,  — is  the  warp  and 
woof  of  Spanish  character,  and  there  is  hardly  any  thing 
more  in  them  than  there  would  be  in  a nation  of  peacocks. 

When  you  have  excepted  the  vice  of  intoxication,  and  a 
great  exception  it  is,  you  have  said  all  that  can  be  said  in 
favor  of  the  moral  habits  of  the  Spanish  people.  They  do 
not  steal  from  one  another,  that  I know  of,  any  more  than 
other  people  do.  But  they  certainly  commit  murders  more 
frequently  than  other  nations  do,  unless  the  slayer  is  mad- 
dened by  drink.  In  estimating  the  comparative  morality 
of  peoples,  this  matter  of  intemperance  holds  the  balance. 
It  is  the  prolific  parent  of  the  greater  part  of  the  crimes  of 
a people  where  it  is  the  prevailing  vice,  yet  very  few  mor- 
alists are  disposed  to  reckon  it  the  crime  of  crimes.  In 
Spain  the  women  are  said  to  be  almost  universally  corrupt. 
As  a matter  of  course,  the  men  must  be  just  as  bad.  I 
have  been  assured  here  in  Granada,  by  those  who  ought  to 
know,  having  long  resided  here  and  become  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  things,  that  there  is  no  social 
morality  among  men  and  women  in  Spain  : that  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest  they  have  all  gone  out  of  the  way, 
and  that  they  are  known  — the  women  are  — as  divided 
into  four  classes,  with  different  degrees  of  refinement  in 
vice,  but  all  four  classes  lost  to  virtue  and  without  con- 
science of  sin.  It  is  quite  probable  that  such  a statement 
is  to  be  taken  with  many  grains  of  allowance.  But  making 
all  deductions  that  one’s  good  nature  demands,  there  still 
remains  a sediment  of  truth  that  one  shudders  to  admit. 
In  this  plane  of  inquiry  we  are  met  with  the  truth  that 
Austria,  Italy,  France,  and  Spain  are  the  Roman  Catholic 
countries  where  the  vice  of  licentiousness  corrupts  the 
moral  of  social  life.  The  Protestant  countries  of  Europe 

8 


1 14  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

are  in  colder  climes,  and  intemperance  is  the  vice  that 
among  the  poorer  people  breeds  misery  more  ruinous  to 
their  health  and  prosperity. 

At  the  railway  station,  when  we  were  leaving  Seville  for 
the  Alhambra  by  the  way  of  Malaga,  a group  of  natives  in 
the  costume  of  Andalusia  presented  a picturesque  and  not 
unpleasing  appearance.  In  the  cities  of  Europe  it  is  rare 
to  see  any  thing  national  and  peculiar  in  the  dress  of  the 
people.  Fashion  is  an  empire  that  extends  over  every 
nation,  and  reigns  in  London,  Berlin,  Vienna,  and  Madrid 
with  resistless  sway.  The  seat  of  government  is  in  Paris, 
and  her  edicts  are  obeyed  in  free  America  as  well  as  in 
France.  But  when  you  get  into  the  rural  districts,  the 
people  cling  to  an  ancient  regime  ; a fashion,  indeed,  who 
sat  on  the  throne  long  years  ago,  and  has  never  been  put 
aside  by  any  revolutions  of  modern  invention.  These  rural 
Andalusians,  in  breeches  and  sandals,  with  red  belt  or  sash, 
and  loose  jacket,  and  conical  hat  and  wide  rim  turned  up 
all  around,  are  dressed  as  their  great-grandfathers  were, 
and  as  their  own  great-grandchildren  will  be,  and  others, 
for  generations  to  come.  They  had  been  to  the  city  on  an 
excursion , and  were  now  going  home  again,  none  the  better, 
but  a deal  the  worse  for  the  change  of  life  they  had  suffered 
in  town. 

It  was  a good  opportunity  to  learn  something  of  the  life 
of  these  people,  who  form,  after  all,  the  great  mass  of  any 
nation,  and  the  part  of  the  people  with  whom  every  true 
heart  is  in  sympathy.  The  rich  and  the  gay,  the  fashion- 
able people  who  throng  in  cities,  can  live  as  they  please. 
The  poor,  who  live  from  hand  to  mouth,  and  cannot  choose 
for  themselves,  but  must  live  as  they  can,  these  are  the 
people  in  every  country  whose  condition  we  want  to  inquire 
into ; and  when  we  have  learned  of  their  state,  we  know 
what  their  country  is.  It  is  the  average  of  human  comfort 
that  we  want  to  get  at. 


SEVILLE. 


115 

And  it  is  a real  help  towards  one’s  satisfaction  with  the 
condition  of  a people  to  know  that  it  does  not  take  a vast 
amount  of  the  good  things  of  this  life  to  make  one  happy, 
if  he  has  never  had  any  thing  more  or  better  than  the  little 
he  has  been  contented  with.  These  Andalusians  work  on 
the  farms  of  large  proprietors,  and  get  six  to  ten  cents  a 
day  and  their  food,  when  they  are  working  by  the  season. 
This  sounds  small.  The  wages  of  laboring  men  who  find 
themselves,  and  who  work  by  the  day,  will  average  forty  or 
fifty  cents  a day.  To  know  what  such  pay  is  worth  we 
must  know  how  they  live,  and  what  it  costs  to  buy  the  food 
they  have.  Their  food  is  chiefly  soup  of-  bacon  oil  and  veg- 
etables, with  bread  and  fruit.  They  take  a kettle  of  this 
thick  soup,  more  like  a pudding  than  a soup,  to  the  .fields 
with  them ; and  day  after  day,  year  in  and  year  out,  eat 
substantially  the  same  thing.  And  this  food  costs  the 
peasants  a very  little  more  than  nothing.  The  ground  is 
easily  worked,  the  climate  is  so  favorable  to  growth  and 
land  so  abundant,  that  what  can  be  raised  for  food  is  almost 
as  accessible  to  the  poor  as  if  vegetables  were  spontaneous 
and  free  to  everybody.  So  it  is  that  these  poor  people  are 
quite  as  well  off,  as  to  the  mere  physical  comforts  of  life,  as 
those  who  get  one,  two,  and  five  dollars  a day  in  other  lands, 
and  have  to  pay  so  much  for  food  and  lodgings  as  to  be 
sorely  puzzled  to  do  what  a cat  often  tries  to  do,  — make 
both  ends  meet. 

These  Spanish  peasants  appear  to  be  lively,  intelligent, 
and  wide-awake.  They  give  a reason  for  doing  any  thing, 
when  they  are  asked ; and  that  is  more  than  the  Irish  or 
English  peasantry  can  do  at  home,  or  in  the  land  of  the 
soaring  eagle.  Except  in  Russia,  there  is  not  a people 
on  the  continent  of  Europe  that  appear  more  stolid  and 
unthoughtful,  more  like  mere  cattle  or  machines,  than  the 
farm  peasantry  of  merry  England.  This  may  be  in  appear- 
ance only ; but  the  truth  is  that  you  can  get  more  out  of  an 


n6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


ignorant  laborer  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  whose  lan- 
guage you  do  not  more  than  half  understand,  than  out  of 
an  English  farm  hand  who  is  supposed  to  speak  English. 

Beer  has  something  to  do  with  this  matter  of  stupidity. 
These  southern  climates  in  Europe  and  this  soil  are  favor- 
able to  the  culture  of  wine-grapes,  and  wine  is  the  solace 
and  stimulus  of  the  commonest  people.  You  may  buy  as 
good  a bottle  of  wine  for  thirty  cents  in  Spain  as  you  would 
have  to  pay  three  or  four  dollars  for  in  New  York.  And  if 
you  will  not  give  thirty  cents  for  it,  you  can  have  as  much 
as  you  want  for  little  or  nothing.  Until  the  railroads  were 
built  and  transportation  made  easy  and  cheap,  it  was  com- 
mon, when  the  new  vintage  came  in,  to  empty  the  casks  that 
held  what  was  left  over  of  former  years.  And  a church 
was  pointed  out  to  me  that  was  built  with  mortar  made 
with  wine  instead  of  water,  there  being  a scarcity  of  water 
in  the  vicinity  but  plenty  of  wine  that  was  to  be  thrown 
away.  Sherry  wine,  which  is  the  sack  of  Shakespeare  and 
Ben  Jonson,  is  the  leading  wine  of  Spain,  and  is  made 
now  and  here  just  as  wine  was  made  in  the  times  of  Hesiod 
and  Isaiah ; for  in  such  climes  as  this  the  people  keep  on 
doing  things  as  their  ancestors  or  others  did  in  the  same 
place  thousands  of  years  ago.  They  drink  wine  as  freely 
as  the  English  drink  beer,  and  as  Americans  drink  rum  and 
water.  But  they  do  not  get  drunk  as  our  people  do,  and 
they  are  not  so  stupid  as  the  beer  drinkers  of  England  are. 
They  are  stimulated,  of  course,  and  the  exhilaration  is  car- 
ried to  excess  sometimes.  It  is  not  true  to  say  there  is 
no  drunkenness  in  wine-growing  countries,  but  the  best 
informed  men,  who  had  the  most  abundant  opportunities  of 
learning  the  facts  in  the  case,  assured  me  that  intemperance 
is  not  common ; that  it  is  very  rare  among  the  working 
people  of  Spain.  This  is  not  to  be  used  as  an  argument  in 
favor  of  wine  raising  and  win.e  drinking  in  America.  It 
would  indeed  be  better  for  the  health  of  the  drinking  men 


SEVILLE. 


II 7 


to  drink  pure  wine  than  bad  whiskey,  or  the  vile  compounds 
that  are  sold  as  wine  in  our  country.  But  if  wine  were  as 
cheap  in  the  United  States  as  in  Spain,  there  would  be  just 
as  much  intemperance  in  the  United  States  as  now.  The 
climate  and  the  strife  of  such  a country  as  ours  furnish 
causes  for  the  use  of  stimulating  drinks  that  do  not  exist  in 
Italy  or  Spain  ; and  philanthropists  who  discuss  and  legislate 
on  the  subject  of  temperance,  without  regard  to  the  physical 
circumstances  of  a people,  are  in  the  same  case  with  the 
traveller  who  reckoned  his  bill  without  his  host.  It  is  well 
to  multiply  and  fortify  wholesome  laws  to  restrain  men  from 
evil  indulgence,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  ply  all  possible  moral 
agencies  to  reform  and  save  our  fellow-men ; but  our  duty 
does  not  end  with  legislating  and  preaching.  There  are 
social  burdens  to  be  raised  from  the  poor  by  the  voluntary 
action  of  the  rich,  and  by  the  application  of  the  gospel  prin- 
ciple of  brotherhood,  which  will  so  ameliorate  the  condition 
of  the  lowly  that  they  will  not  be  tempted  as  now,  by  the 
pressure  of  weariness,  care,  and  woe,  to  fly  to  the  intoxi- 
cating cup  for  help  to  bear  their  load,  or  to  forget  that  it  is 
on  them.  But  this  degression  is  getting  dry,  if  it  is  on 
drinking. 

A beautiful  trait  of  character  and  a lovely  custom  of  the 
Spanish  peasantry  appear  in  their  love  for  parents.  They 
yield  to  them  obedience , respect,  veneration,  and  love,  after 
they  are  aged,  and  the  children  are  men  and  women  grown. 
The  married  children  delight  to  have  their  parents  to  direct 
and  govern  them  as  in  childhood,  and  these  children  even 
quarrel  among  themselves  to  get  and  keep  possession  of 
their  aged  parents.  This  trait  of  character  is  said  to  mark 
a slow  country,  where  the  past,  the  ancient,  is  held  in 
honor ; while  progress  has  no  such  reverence  for  old 
age.  Would  to  God  that  we  had  a little  more  Spain  in 
young  America,  if  it  is  Spanish  to  honor  one’s  father  and 
mother. 


1 1 8 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


In  the  Alameda,  at  Malaga. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MALAGA. 

HPHE  wind  blowing  from  the  north-west,  that  is,  a land 
i breeze,  at  Malaga,  excites  the  nervous  system  so 
much,  that  in  courts  of  law  it  is  held  to  be  an  extejatmg 
circumstance  in  case  of  crime.  It  is  therefore  o g 
importance  to  know  which  way  the  wind  blows  when  yo 


MALAGA. 


1 19 

are  proposing  to  kill  your  neighbor  or  to  commit  a forgery. 
In  our  country  we  have  hardly  got  to  that  point,  but  in 
Boston,  where  easterly  winds  prevail,  the  phrenologists  set 
up  a plea  in  behalf  of  the  Malden  murderer  that  was  quite 
as  absurd  as  the  Malaga  weather.  In  New  York,  the  doc- 
trine of  mental  and  moral  disturbance  is  held  to  be  an 
extenuating  circumstance  in  crime.  And  some  of  our  emi- 
nent citizens,  merchants,  bankers,  lawyers,  doctors,  and 
ministers  have  united  in  representing  the  strong  excite- 
ment engendered  by  stock  speculation,  as  an  excuse  for 
forgery.  From  all  of  which  it  is  fair  to  infer  that  the  guilt 
or  innocence  of  a man  in  the  New  World,  as  well  as  the 
Old,  depends  very  much  upon  the  way  the  wind  blows. 

Malaga  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  resorts  for  invalids. 
It  is  not  a resort  of  fashion,  like  Nice  and  Mentone,  and 
perhaps  Sicily  is  more  sought  by  those  whose  maladies  are 
partly  imaginary  and  the  other  part  nervous.  But  Malaga 
is  a place  to  which  intelligent  physicians  send  hundreds  of 
patients  who  are  in  a bad  way,  and  yet  have  a fair  chance 
of  getting  well  if  they  spend  a few  winters  in  this  uniform, 
genial,  mild,  but  not  enervating  clime.  The  warm  south 
wind  comes  in  upon  it  from  the  sea,  on  whose  shore  it  lies, 
and  the  mountains  in  the  rear  shield  it  from  the  northern 
blasts.  In  an  ordinary  room,  without  fire,  the  thermometer 
(Fahr.)  ranges  all  winter  long  from  fifty-two  to  seventy  deg., 
never  higher  or  lower,  unless  when  an  extraordinary  fit  of 
weather  is  on,  and  the  average  temperature  is  about  fifty-five 
deg.  from  November  to  March.  It  is  six  degrees  warmer 
than  Rome,  which  is  one  of  the  dampest,  chilliest,  and  most 
disagreeable  places  for  an  invalid  to  winter  in.  I tried  hard 
to  get  well  in  Florence  and  Rome  and  Nice,  and  then  fled 
to  Spain,  and  found  what  neither  Italy  nor  Southern  France 
would  furnish,  — an  equable  clime ; warm,  but  not  debilitat- 
ing. Nature  has  a laboratory  for  making  mineral  waters  that 
chemists  in  vain  attempt  to  imitate,  and  there  are  peculiar 


120 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


combinations  of  atmospheric  elements  in  divers  places,  that 
must  be  tried  on  the  spot  if  you  would  get  the  good  of 
them.  The  invalid  who  wishes  a climate  that  braces  him 
up  without  exciting  him  to  cough,  will  have  to  breathe  in  a 
great  many  places,  perhaps,  before  he  finds  those  opposite 
qualities  blended,  and  if  an  unprofessional  opinion  is  worth 
any  thing,  it  is  here  given,  that  the  south  of  Spain  is  the 
paradise  desired.  But  nothing  is  more  important  for  con- 
sumptives than  uniformity  of  climate,  and  the  argument  in 
favor  of  Malaga  is  complete,  when  you  learn  that  the  range 
or  variation  of  its  temperature  is  less  than  that  of  any  other 
place  on  the  continent  of  Europe  ! Pau,  that  beautiful 
little  nest  in  the  Pyrenees,  so  sheltered  by  the  hills  that  no 
wind  visits  it  too  roughly,  has  a range  of  no  less  than  sixty- 
eight  degrees  during  the  year,  and  Rome  has  sixty-two,  and 
even  Nice,  fairest  of  watering-places  for  winter,  ranges 
sixty,  but  Malaga  has  only  a range  of  forty-nine  degrees 
in  the  year. 

It  rained  almost  every  day  in  Rome.  It  rains  in  Flor- 
ence implacably,  just  when  you  wish  it  would  not.  Nice  is 
fairer,  but  not  always  fair.  Malaga  is  so  uniformly  pleasant, 
that  a day  without  sunshine  is  very  unusual  in  the  months 
of  November,  December,  and  January.  Good  authority 
says  there  are  not,  during  the  whole  year,  more  than  ten 
days  on  which  rain  would  prevent  an  invalid  from  taking 
exercise.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  winter  weather  in 
Malaga  is  more  nearly  like  to  that  of  Cairo,  in  Egypt,  than 
any  other  place,  and  there  are  but  four  degrees  of  difference 
in  the  average  temperature. 

B,ut  take  it  summer  and  winter  through,  and  in  the  last 
nine  years  it  has  rained  only  262  times,  or  thirty-nine 
times  in  the  course  of  each  year:  and  think  of  it,  O ye 
dwellers  in  London,  or  Paris,  or  New  York,  it  has  been 
foggy  or  misty  but  sixteen  days  in  three  times  three  years  ! 
And  this  bright,  beautiful  atmosphere  gives  a blue  sky  so 


MALAGA. 


121 


deep  and  pure,  that  it  would  take  a poet  of  more  than  aver- 
age fancy  power  to  invent  a firmament  of  superior  glory,  or 
to  find  a sunset  in  Greece  or  Italy  to  be  mentioned  in  the 
same  day  with  the  gorgeous  splendors  that  clothe  the  skies 
of  Southern  Spain  at  shut  of  day. 

If  you  have  consumption,  or  bronchitis,  or  any  malady 
that  is  working  mischief  with  your  breathing  apparatus,  do 
not  be  governed,  nor  even  guided,  by  the  hasty  generaliza- 
tions of  a man  who  writes  from  what  he  sees  and  hears  in  a 
tour  for  health  and  pleasure  through  half  a dozen  countries 
in  the  course  of  a season.  The  most  that  he  can  tell  you  is 
that  such  a climate  as  this  is  said  to  be  excellent  for  those 
who  have  consumption  already,  and  is  likely  to  engender  it 
where  it  is  not ; and  if  you  cannot  reconcile  those  two  say- 
ings of  the  books  and  the  people,  it  is  well  enough  to  know 
that  a sickly  plant  may  be  saved  by  being  cared  for  in  a 
hot-house,  that  might  have  been  made  to  droop  if  taken  in 
when  it  was  in  healthful  vigor.  Dr.  Lee,  whose  opinion  is 
of  great  weight,  regards  the  climate  of  Madeira,  Pau,  or  Pisa 
better  than  that  of  Malaga,  for  incipient  tubercular  disease, 
in  persons  of  an  excitable  habit.  And  so  much  caution  is 
to  be  used  in  deciding  upon  the  means  to  be  used  for  saving 
life  by  change  of  clime,  that  I would  not  write  a line  on  this 
subject  if  I supposed  that  any  one  would  be  foolish  enough 
to  make  a voyage  on  the  strength  of  it. 

When  a miserly  client  attempted  to  get  an  opinion  out  of 
a lawyer  by  asking  him  at  dinner,  “ What  would  you  advise 
me  to  do  in  such  and  such  a case  ? ” the  lawyer  answered, 
“ I should  think  the  best  thing  you  could  do  would  be  to 
take  advice.”  And  this  is  what  I advise. 

No  finer  grapes  than  those  of  Malaga  do  we  enjoy  at 
home  in  the  winter  season,  and  the  trade  in  raisins  is  enor- 
mous. We  have  been  familiar  with  a raisin-box,  but  it  was 
something  quite  novel  to  see  extensive  factories  making 
nothing  else  but  these  rude  little  cases,  all  to  be  used  for 


122 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


packing  raisins.  The  raisin  stores  or  depots  where  the 
boxes  are  waiting  to  be  exported  were  so  vast  as  to  aston- 
ish me,  but  when  one  thinks  of  the  extent  to  which  they  are 
distributed  throughout  the  civilized  world,  it  is  only  wonder- 
ful that  the  trade  is  not  far  greater. 

The  country  around  is  flowing  with  wine  and  oil.  It 
might  easily  be  made  to  yield  cotton  and  sugar  enough  to 
supply  the  market  of  Europe.  But  it  is  in  Spain , and 
nothing  thrives  in  Spain  but  Romanism  and  its  sister. 

Through  a succession  of  streets  so  narrow  that  no  wheel 
carriages  can  pass,  and  designed  only  for  bipeds  and  quadru- 
peds to  go  on  foot,  reeking  with  smells  that  made  fragrant 
the  memory  of  Cologne,  we  wound  our  way,  meeting 
Moors  from  Morocco,  in  their  picturesque  costume,  caps, 
togas,  or  shawls,  with  bare  legs  and  sandals ; meeting  gypsy 
women  and  gypsy  men  whose  home  is  Spain,  and  whose 
story  is  part  of  life  in  Spain,  we  plied  our  devious  walk  on 
Sunday  into  the  little  square  in  front  of  the  Malaga  Cathe- 
dral. Built  of  white  stone,  on  the  site  of  a mosque,  and 
still  retaining  part  of  the  old  Mahometan  structure,  it  rises 
in  a mass  about  three  hundred  feet  square,  to  the  height  of 
130  feet,  and  the  tower  rises  220  feet  above  the  roof.  High 
mass  was  celebrated  when  we  entered,  and  few  worshippers 
were  present : most  of  these  were  women  of  some  “ relig- 
ious ” order,  and  some  priests,  not  serving  at  the  altar  but 
on  their  knees  before  it,  on  the  beautiful  pavement  of  blue 
and  white  marble.  Perhaps  the  interior  is  too  light  and 
florid : the  various  decorations  have  been  added  at  periods 
so  remote  from  each  other  that  they  lack  harmony.  But 
what  is  wanting  in  severity  and  solemn  majesty  is  made  up  in 
the  variety  of  ornament,  portals,  statues,  and  wood  carvings. 

The  tribes  of  Jordan,  in  Palestine,  once  held  this  city  and 
region,  reigning  and  rejoicing  in  the  climate,  the  soil,  and 
the  sea.  They  sent  the  luscious  grapes  away  to  China, 
and  Ibu  Bathula,  who  was  here  in  1630,  was  quite  as 


MALAGA. 


123 


delighted  with  what  he  had  to  eat  and  see  as  we  are,  who 
come  230  years  after  him,  for  he  says : “ I have  seen  eight 
pounds  of  grapes  sold  for  twopence ; its  pomegranates  are 
like  rubies,  and  unequalled  in  the  whole  world ; its  courts 
have  no  rivals  in  beauty,  and  are  shaded  by  wonderful 
groves  of  oranges.”  He  adds  that  he  saw  a preacher  col- 
lecting money  to  ransom  some  Moors  whom  a Spanish  fleet 
had  captured.  He  rejoiced  in  the  wine  of  Malaga,  and  all 
the  more,  it  is  probable,  because  its  use  was  forbidden  by 
the  Koran : for  we  have  the  highest  authority  to  say  that 
stolen  waters  are  sweet.  And  is  it  not  Al-Makkari  who 
tells  the  story  of  a dying  Moor  who  prayed  : “ O Lord,  of 
all  things  which  thou  hast  in  Paradise,  I only  ask  for  two ; 
grant  me  to  drink  Malaga  and  Muscat  wine  ! ” 

The  old  fortress  once  stood  here,  from  which  the  beauti- 
ful Florinde  threw  herself  into  the  sea,  and  by  her  death 
roused  the  rebellion  that  was  headed  by  her  father,  and 
drove  from  the  throne  her  betrayer,  Roderick,  the  last  of’ 
the  Gothic  kings.  But  all  these  stories,  are  they  not  written 
in  the  chronicles  of  Washington  Irving,  and  is  there  any 
one  so  incredulous  as  to  doubt  the  truthfulness  of  the  thou- 
sand-and-one  legends  of  that  fascinating  and  most  learned 
historian  ? For  my  part,  since  I have  been  dreaming  here 
in  the  Alhambra,  I have  no  more  doubt  of  the  Spanish 
tales  that  he  told  than  I have  of  the  verities  of  the  Arabian 
Nights  or  the  legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow. 

What  travel  was  in  Spain  before  the  invention  of  diligences 
I know  not,  but  probably  the  rich  rode  on  horse  or  mule 
back,  and  the  poor  footed  it ; now  that  railroads  have 
brought  distant  cities  near  each  other,  it  is  only  occasion- 
ally that  you  are  treated  to  an  old-time  ride  in  a coach,  and 
perhaps  you  may  be  glad  that  once  at  least,  in  Spain,  it  was 
necessary  for  us  to  undergo  this  species  of  locomotion. 

Between  Malaga,  a great  seaport,  and  Granada,  the  an- 
cient and  glorious  city  of  the  Alhambra,  there  is  no  com- 


124 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


munication  except  by  diligence . The  time  is  fourteen 
hours.  And  the  hour  for  starting  is  six  in  the  evening ! 
You  have  before  you  this  luxury,  of  one  long,  jolting, 
execrable  night  ride,  with  no  rest,  no  change  from  dewy 
eve  till  morn.  You  may  be  a delicate  lady,  or  a feeble  old 
man,  or  a middle-aged  invalid,  seeking  rest  and  finding 
none ; but  you  must  go  by  the  diligence,  and  go  in  the 
night  and  all  night,  or  hire  a carriage  for  yourself,  and  then 
there  is  no  certainty  that  you  will  ever  get  to  the  other  end 
of  your  journey. 

The  Spanish  diligence  is  divided  into  two  inside  compart- 
ments, the  berlina  or  coupe  of  three  seats  in  front,  and 
interior  of  six.  By  waiting  over  a day  or  two,  we  were 
able  to  get  possession  of  the  three  seats  in  front,  and 
though  the  fare  was  more  than  in  the  interior,  we  had 
the  comfort  of  escaping  suffocation  by  tobacco  smoke,  and 
of  seeing  the  fun  ahead. 

At  least  a hundred  ladies  and  gentlemen,  evidently  of 
the  higher  class,  assembled  at  the  coach  office  to  take 
leave  of  some  one  who  was  going  to  Malaga  to  hold  an 
office  under  government.  It  was  a genteel  and  decorous 
company,  and  a sight  quite  peculiar  to  the  country.  In 
America  or  England,  men  are  often  escorted  to  and  from 
the  station,  but  this  was  a social,  rather  than  a public 
ovation,  and  was  a quiet  and  handsome  farewell  to  a popu- 
lar man  in  society. 

Wherewithal  shall  I give  you  an  idea  of  the  team  that 
took  us  out  of  Malaga  that  lovely  winter  evening ! Ten 
mules,  the  most  refractory,  ill-mated,  and  discordant  beasts 
that  have  served  a master  since  the  days  of  Balaam,  were 
hitched  together  and  to  the  diligence  with  rope  harness  of 
primitive  construction.  On  one  of  the  leaders  rode  a 
postilion  : by  the  side  of  the  midway  pairs  ran  a man 
whose  duty  and  privilege  it  was  to  beat  them  ; and  the 
wheel  mules  were  guided  by  reins  in  the  hands  of  the 


THE  DILIGENCE 


126 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


driver  on  the  top  of  the  diligence.  The  driver  thrashed 
the  mules  at  his  feet ; the  whipper  thrashed  the  three 
pairs  in  the  middle  of  the  team,  and  the  postilion  thrashed 
the  leaders.  All  thrashing  at  once  as  fast  and  as  hard 
as  they  could.  All  shouting  at  once  at  the  top  of 
their  voices,  the  lumbering  vehicle  is  at  last  fairly  launched 
and  away  it  goes.  The  postilion  on  the  forward  beasts 
blows  his  horn  to  signal  the  people  in  the  narrow  and 
crooked  streets  that  the  thing  is  coming.  The  driver 
snaps  his  whip  like  a revolver,  and  after  the  snap  brings 
the  lash  around  the  flanks  of  the  lazy  brutes  : the  whipper 
is  now  on  one  side  and  now  on  the  other ; whip,  whip, 
whip  all  the  while  ; kicking,  punching,  shouting,  the  mules 
spread  themselves  all  abroad,  never  pulling  in  concert,  but 
each  one  on  his  own  hook,  and  as  we  got  along  out  of  the 
suburbs  and  into  the  broader  ways  of  the  country,  the 
rebellious  creatures  seemed  to  grow  frantic  under  the  cease- 
less blows  rained  upon  them  by  their  tormentors,  and 
plunged  and  kicked  till  one  of  them  made  confusion  all 
confounded  by  turning  a somerset  out  of  his  harness  and 
bringing  the  whole  concern  to  a standstill.  It  was  a short 
process,  putting  him  in  again,  and  then  away  they  all 
scampered,  more  like  a drove  of  cattle  than  a harnessed 
team,  but  the  beating  was  redoubled  the  more  they  ran,  till 
i really  began  to  think  it  was  time  for  these  dumb  beasts 
to  open  their  mouths  and  speak  some  words  of  remon- 
strance. And  yet  how  soon  we  became  so  demoralized,  as 
rather  to  enjoy  the  excitement  and  frolic  of  the  ride. 

Night  was  drawing  on.  We  begin  to  ascend  the  moun- 
tains behind  Malaga.  The  city  lies  at  their  feet,  all  glorious 
in  the  golden  light  of  a setting  sun.  The  bay  is  a lake  of 
loveliness  ; and  the  sea,  unbounded,  stretches  off  under 
the  southern  sky.  Orchards  of  olives,  always  green,  and 
hills  that  are  vineyards  in  the  season  of  grapes,  and 
orange-trees,  are  around  us,  — evidence  of  a rich  and  fertile 


MALAGA. 


127 


country.  Yet  every  half  mile  or  so  an  armed  patrol  guards 
the  road  to  make  it  safe  for  travellers,  and  we  have  two 
or  three  on  the  top  of  the  diligence  with  their  guns  loaded 
to  give  a welcome  to  any  “ gentleman  of  the  road  ” who 
might  be  disposed  to  make  free  with  unsuspecting  travel- 
lers. And  so,  with  the  excitement  of  the  novel  mode  of 
transportation,  and  listening  with  ears  erect  to  the  tales  of 
robbers  with  which  Antanazio  beguiled  the  mortal  hours, 
we  passed  a long  and  wretched  night,  winding  among 
craggy  mountains  on  the  verge  of  precipices,  and  crossing 
deep  ravines. 

It  was  three  o’clock  in  the  morning  when  we  reached 
Loja,  where  we  were  to  stop  for  refreshments  ! Out  of 
the  diligence  tumbled  a miserable  set  of  people,  sleepy  but 
sleepless,  cross  and  hungry,  and  made  a general  rush  to 
the  hostelry  — by  courtesy  called  an  inn.  Nobody  was 
up,  but  in  the  course  of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  a dirty  old 
man  brought  in  a pot  of  chocolate  and  put  a plate  of  cakes 
in  the  middle  of  a table  which  had  been  spread  with  a 
cloth  overnight.  I noticed  little  black  spots  around  on 
the  cloth,  and  putting  my  finger  at  one  of  them,  away 
hopped  a flea,  and  a flock  of  them  were  soon  in  motion. 
The  chocolate  was  good,  and  the  fleas  were  stimulating. 
In  twenty  minutes  we  were  caged  again,  and,  with  fresh 
teams  and  good  spirits,  set  off  for  Granada. 

About  six  o’clock  in  the  morning  we  were  passing 
through  Santa  Fe,  — a large  town  — in  the  streets  of  which 
hundreds  of  men  and  women  were  seen  standing,  about  to 
march  off  in  gangs  to  distant  fields  to  work.  The  inhabi- 
tants do  not  live  in  scattered  houses  over  the  country,  — 
here  and  there  a farmer’s  cottage,  as  with  us,  — but,  dwell- 
ing for  safety  in  villages,  they  must  go  miles  and  miles 
away  to  and  from  their  fields  of  daily  labor.  This  Santa 
Fe  has  a history.  It  was  built  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
while  laying  siege  to  Granada,  and  here  Columbus  came 


128 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


and  successfully  made  his  plea  for  their  royal  favor  and 
help  to  go  out  into  the  ocean  in  search  of  a new  world. 
He  found  it  that  same  year.  Granada  fell  in  1492,  and 
the  last  of  the  Moorish  strongholds  yielded  to  Spanish 
power. 

As  we  rode  across  the  wide  and  fertile  plain  that  lies  in 
front  of  Granada,  the  lofty  mountains  appeared  ; the  east 
was  in  shadow,  and  the  west  tinged  with  the  rising  sun- 
light. Soon  the  city  on  a hill  rose  on  the  right,  crowned 
with  the  Alhambra.  One  could  not  fail  to  be  excited  as 
the  dreams  of  childhood  and  youth  were  becoming  real. 
An  hour  more  and  we  were  in  peaceful  possession  of 
Granada,  and  comfortably  lodged  within  the  grounds  of 
the  Alhambra. 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


129 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  ALHAMBRA. 

W 7 HEN  the  followers  of  Berber,  the  Moorish  chieftain, 
* * some  of  whom  came  from  the  regions  of  Damascus 
and  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  first  entered  the  plain  that 
lies  in  front  of  Granada,  they  imagined,  in  the  fervor  of 
their  Oriental  fancies,  that  they  had  struck  Paradise  itself. 
Perhaps  they  had  come  back  to  Damascus,  the  blessed 
and  glorious  city  of  the  East,  but  that  and  Paradise  to 
them  were  about  the  same  thing.  The  wide  and  fertile 
plain  was  and  is  watered  by  two  streams  like  those  that 
flowed  round  about  the  Eden  of  sacred  story,  and  if  the 
earthly  gardens  of  man’s  delight  were  to  be  an  emblem  and 
foretaste  of  the  flowers  and  fruits,  the  beauty  and  plenty 
of  the  gardens  of  the  skies,  they  were  certainly  now  before 
their  eyes.  They  gave  the  name  of  “ Damascus  of  the 
West  ” to  the  city  that  crowned  the  hill,  and  shone  in  the 
summer  sun  like  the  great  dome  to  the  temple  of  the  King 
of  kings.  This  city  was  called  Granada,  from  the  granates, 
or  pomegranates,  that  then  as  now  grew  in  abundance, 
with  luscious  grapes,  figs  and  citrons  and  olives,  and  all  the 
fruits  of  a southern  and  delicious  clime.  Near  by,  the 
snow-clad  Sierra  Nevada  reminded  them  of  their  own 
Mount  Hermon,  and  over  all  these  was  hung  a canopy  of 
blue,  so  deep  and  pure  and  clear  that  the  sea,  reversed  and 
lightened  by  the  sun  by  day,  and  set  with  stars  at  night, 
could  not  have  been  more  lovely  to  behold. 

When  the  empire  of  the  Moors  in  Spain  was  broken  into 
hostile  factions,  preparatory  to  its  final  extinction,  the  city 

9 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


131 

of  Granada  fell  into  the  hands  of  Zawi  Ibu  Zeyri,  who  was 
its  first  king,  and  established  his  royal  residence  here.  The 
towers  or  castle  on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  and  commanding 
the  whole  city,  were  called  Alhambra , which  means  red 
castle , and  to  this  color  the  stones  turn  after  exposure  to  the 
air,  from  the  oxide  of  iron  they  contain. 

Within  the  walls  of  this  castle,  covering  an  area  of  seve- 
ral acres,  the  successive  Moorish  kings  erected  palaces,  and 
embellishing  them  according  to  their  own  tastes,  joined 
walls  and  towers,  and  courts  and  fountains  and  gardens, 
until  in  process  of  time  the  great  enclosure  became  filled 
with  the  edifices  which  this  luxurious  and  extravagant  race 
of  monarchs  desired  for  themselves,  their  wives  and  concu- 
bines, and  the  hosts  of  servants  and  dependants  which  such 
a style  of  life,  in  such  a country,  must  demand.  At  this 
moment,  the  palace  of  the  Russian  emperor  holds  five 
thousand  persons,  all  actually  required  to  wait  upon  the 
Czar  and  his  household  and  one  another.  In  the  Seraglio 
of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  40,000  oxen  were  eaten  yearly,  and 
’400  sheep  a day.  An  army  would  therefore  be  as  easily 
lodged  as  the  family  of  a Moorish  king  in  the  palace  at 
Granada.  What  it  was  in  the  days  of  Abu-Abdallah,  who 
has  the  traditional  honor  of  having  built  the  palace  itself,  or 
of  Yusef  I.,  who  added  lustre  to  its  walls  by  his  gorgeous 
decorations,  we  can  form  but  a faint  conception  from  what 
we  see  of  it  now  that  it  is  stripped  of  its  purple  and  gold, 
and  has  nothing  of  its  former  splendors  but  the  mouldering 
walls  and  shattered  stairs  and  broken  floors. 

The  first  prince  who  took  up  his  abode  in  the  Alhambra 
itself  was  Alhamar,  from  whom  it  has  been  by  many  sup- 
posed that  the  palace  itself  was  named.  He  was  a wise, 
gentle,  and  noble  ruler,  so  widely  differing  from  most  of  his 
race  that  he  actually  preferred  peace  to  war  ; and,  to  make 
it  possible  for  him  to  pursue  without  interruption  his  vast 
beneficent  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of 


132 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


his  people,  he  consented  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  Ferdi- 
nand, King  of  Arragon.  Alhamar  constructed  roads  to  the 
distant  parts  of  his  empire,  which  then  reached  to  Gibral- 
tar ; he  built  colleges  and  hospitals  ; and  the  canals  that 
carried  waters  far  into  the  plains  for  irrigation  were  the 
work  of  this  barbarian  king.  Under  his  reign  the  city  rose 
to  its  zenith  of  splendor.  The  arts  and  sciences  flourished 
as  the  vine  and  fig-tree  in  a genial  soil.  Wealth,  learning, 
genius,  taste,  and  chivalry  lent  their  aid  to  heighten  the 
attractions  of  this  fair  city.  Yusef,  one  of  his  successors, 
added  many  buildings  to  those  that  he  had  left,  and  others 
were  crowded  into  the  arena  in  after  reigns,  so  that  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  it  was  growing  in  such  magnificence 
and  beauty,  as  the  soft,  languid,  and  effeminate  tastes  of  a 
luxurious,  debauched,  and  decaying  race  of  irresponsible, 
licentious,  and  decaying  monarchs,  with  a host  of  wives  to 
prompt  them  to  indulgence  in  every  whim  of  fancy,  could 
invent  to  add  to  the  delights  of  their  terrestrial  paradise. 
What  could  be  looked  for  as  the  result  of  such  lives  but 
the  ruin  of  the  empire.  Kings  had  but  short  reigns,  for 
intrigue,  lust,  ambition,  and  murder  made  one  after  another 
give  place  to  a rival  who  sought  his  bed  quite  as  much  as 
his  throne.  The  usurper  soon  became  the  enfeebled  volup- 
tuary of  the  harem,  and  the  arm  that  was  as  strong  as 
Hercules  in  the  battlefield  became  as  weak  as  a woman’s 
when  love,  not  war,  was  the  passion  of  the  hour.  A king- 
dom divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.  The  cities  of  the 
Moors  no  longer  were  in  league,  but  each,  jealous  of  the  rest, 
was  in  succession  sieged  and  sacked. 

At  last  Granada  stood  alone  in  its  independence  and  its 
impending  ruin.  Mohammed  Ibu  Otsman  had  bowed  his 
neck  to  the  Queen  of  Castile,  and  the  Alhambra  was  the 
only  Moorish  gem  which  remained  to  be  transferred  to  the 
Christian  crown.  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  by  marriage  with 
Isabella  of  Castile,  formed  at  once  a union  of  hearts  and 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


133 


arms  that  prepared  the  way  for  the  overthrow  of  the  last 
remnant  of  Moorish  power  in  Spain.  Columbus,  repulsed 
from  his  native  country,  had  strangely  sought  aid  in  this 
distracted  land.  As  if  a higher  will  than  his  own  were 
directing  his  weary  steps,  he  had  pursued  these  conquerors 
of  the  Moors  over  the  mountains,  and  found  them  in  their 
tents  within  sight  of  the  red  towers  on  the  heights  of 
Granada.  They  had  other  conquests  than  of  unknown 
worlds  in  view.  The  prize  they  sought  was  gleaming,  like 
a sun,  between  them  and  the  snows  of  Sierra  Nevada. 
They  turned  a deaf  ear,  in  the  din  of  war,  to  the  tales  of 
the  adventurous  sailor.  And  he  went  away. 

He  had  gone  a day’s  journey  on  his  solitary  way  to 
Seville  and  had  reached  Loja,  where  we  had  fleas  and  cake 
for  our  lunch  this  morning,  when  a messenger  from  the 
queen  arrested  his  steps  and  brought  him  back  to  the  royal 
presence  and  favor.  They  gave  him  the  blessing  and  the 
gold  he  needed,  and  then  they  conquered  the  Moors,  and 
Granada,  with  its  Alhambra,  fell  into  their  hands.  And  in 
the  same  year  Columbus  gave  them  a new  world  in  the 
West. 

Years  and  years  since,  even  in  the  long  time  ago  when 
the  sunny  days  of  childhood  were  yet  in  the  glow  of  their 
noon,  I remember  wondering  “what  the  Alhambra  is.”  It 
had  to  me  then,  and  all  the . way  along  the  lengthening 
years  of  life,  a dreamy  rather  than  a real  existence,  and  if 
at  times  I read  its  story,  the  “Tales  of  the  Alhambra” 
rather  increased  than  weakened  the  sense  of  dream-life  in 
which  alone  it  was  to  be  enjoyed. 

In  Malaga  I went  into  a Spanish  bookstore  and  asked 
for  English  books  on  Spain.  The  bibliopole  sent  me  into 
the  garret  of  his  shop,  where  in  a corner  was  heaped  a pile 
of  odds  and  ends  of  English  literature,  such  as  might  have 
been  left  behind  by  some  poor  invalids  who  had  perished  in 
their  perusal,  while  seeking  to  get  a new  lease  of  life  in  this 


34 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


delicious  clime.  But  among  them  were  several  copies,  in 
paper  covers,  of  Irving’s  “ Tales  of  the  Alhambra,”  whose 
uncut  leaves  showed  them  to  have  been  unread  and  kept  for 
sale  to  passing  pilgrims  like  myself.  I carried  one  off.  It 
would  be  pleasant  to  read  on  the  spot : and  I have  read 
them  with  fresh  delight,  while  every  court  and  wall  and 
tower,  every  fountain,  stream,  plain,  hill  is  linked  with  the 
stories  that  the  old  master  told  while  he  dreamed  within 
the  ruins  of  the  palace  that  his  fiction  has  made  more 
famous  than  its  history.  But  reading  tales  about  the 
Alhambra  do  not  tell  us  what  it  is,  and  it  is  quite  likely  . 
that  my  account  will  give  you  no  more  intelligible  an  idea 
of  it. 

We  have  ascended  the  hill  through  a long  avenue  shaded 
with  elms,  and  approach  a massive  gate,  the  gate  of  judg- 
ment, a seat  of  justice  in  olden  times,  where  in  the  open 
air,  as  was  common  in  Oriental  climes,  the  magistrates,  the 
elders,  were  accustomed  to  administer  the  law.  “ Then  he 
made  a porch,  where  he  might  judge,  even  a porch  of  judg- 
ment.” i Kings,  vii.  7.  Many  other  passages  of  Scripture 
allude  to  the  same  custom.  A square  tower  surmounts  the 
gate,  and  the  pillars  are  inscribed  with  Arabic  legends. 
The  horse-shoe  arch  has  a mighty  hand  in  bas-relief,  with 
the  fingers  pointing  upward,  and  on  the  second  arch  is  a 
key  in  stone,  and  the  tradition  is  that  the  gate  was  impreg- 
nable until  the  stone  hand  should  take  the  stone  key  and 
unlock  the  gate  for  the  enemy  to  enter.  Without  waiting 
for  such  a miracle,  we  pass  through  the  two-leaved  gates, 
and  by  a winding  and  still  ascending,  path  we  reach  the 
terrace  on  which  the  palaces  and  villas  of  the  Moorish  kings 
were  built.  This  plateau  is  about  half  a mile  long,  and 
narrow,  surrounded  by  red  walls  six  feet  thick  and  thirty 
feet  high,  and  made  strong  by  many  towers,  each  one  of 
which  was  the  residence  of  some  of  the  household  of  royalty. 
The  various  styles  of  architecture  within  and  on  these  walls 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


135 


are  the  best  illustrations  of  the  successive  races  and  tastes 
and  power  of  the  men  who  have  ruled  on  this  lofty  emi- 
nence. Rome  and  Carthage  has  each  in  its  turn  been  mas- 
ter here,  and  left  his  sign-manual  in  characters  that  time 
has  spared.  More  incongruous  than  any  thing  else  is  the 
Tuscan  palace  of  Charles  V.,  and  a modern  parish  church 
has  risen  on  the  ruins  of  a mosque.  Napoleon’s  soldiers 
were  followed  by  the  English,  and  modern  war  is  not  a 
whit  more  mindful  of  the  proprieties  of  art  and  sentiment 
than  the  old  savagery  which  we  despise.  Ruin,  deso- 
lation, decay  is  now  the  spirit  of  the  place.  It  is  im- 
pressive, eloquent  indeed ; perhaps  more  so  than  those 
ruins  in  Egypt  and  Greece  and  Rome  that  have  the  hoar 
of  more  centuries  upon  them.  It  is  not  so  strange,  nor  so 
mournful,  that  the  columns  and  walls  should  now  be  in  the 
dust  that  did  their  duty  two,  three  thousand  years  ago.  It 
seems  to  be  almost  becoming  that  the  temples  of  old  pagan- 
ism should  moulder  in  the  dispensation  of  faith  that  wor- 
ships in  spirit  only.  But  it  is  painfully  suggestive  of  the 
transient  nature  of  all  human  art  and  power  that  these 
massive  structures  with  gorgeous  decorations,  whose  splen- 
dor is  only  equalled  by  the  fancies  of  romance,  have  had 
their  rise,  their  reign,  and  their  ruin  all  within  the  lapse  of 
the  last  ten  hundred  years. 

Antonio  Aguilo  ’y  Fuster,  Conseije  del  Palacio  Arabe; 
Alhambra,  gave  me  his  card,  as  we  entered  a small  door  in 
the  side  of  a plain  wall,  and  were  informed  that  we  were 
now  in  the  palace  of  the  Moors,  the  veritable  Alhambra 
itself ! The  important  personage  whose  card  was  in  my 
hand  was  the  guardian  of  this  mysterious  realm,  and  would, 
for  the  usual  consideration  of  a dollar  to  him  paid,  introduce 
us  to  the  several  apartments.  The  contract  was  concluded, 
and  the  porter  led  the  way. 

He  brought  us  first  into  the  Court  of  Myrtles.  It  is  a 
vast  open  oblong,  170  feet  by  74,  with  a lake  in  the  centre, 


I36  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

surrounded  by  a marble  pavement  and  myr-le-trees,  from 
which  it  takes  its  name.  In  this  lake  the  wives  of  the 
Moorish  monarch  bathed,  of  course  secluded  from  all  eyes 
but  his  own,  and  the  eunuchs,  whose  “ sentry  boxes  ” still 
remain.  Light  and  beautiful  columns,  with  graceful  arches 
springing  from  the  capitals,  support  a gallery  on  all  sides. 
Out  of  this  court  open  many  rooms,  whose  floors  and  walls 
and  ceilings,  with  their  inscriptions,  their  delicate  tracery 
work,  not  worth  the  name  of  sculpture,  but  beautiful  as 
perishable,  are  the  types  of  the  race  that  revelled  here  in 
the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Right  here  Mo- 
hammed III.  had  his  head  cut  off,  and  his  body  was  pitched 
into  the  water  where  the  usurper  king  Nasr  often  enjoyed 
the  luxury  of  a bath  with  his  wives. 

The  governor,  or  more  properly  the  janitor,  made  brief 
comments  on  the  architecture  and  uses  of  the  various  apart- 
ments, and  then  led  us  to  the  Court  of  Lions.  Above  all 
other  portions  of  the  Alhambra  this  gives  the  most  correct 
idea  of  the  palace  as  it  was  in  its  ancient  and  early  glory. 
A process  of  restoration  has  been  going  on  for  some  years, 
under  the  direction  of  government,  and  Sr.  Contreras  hav- 
ing the  work  in  charge,  has  succeeded  so  happily  that  Yusef 
himself,  who  was  the  first  monarch  to  indulge  in  these  Ori- 
ental shawl-pattern  tracery  and  tawdry  designs,  would  have 
been  delighted  to  have  the  modern  architect  to  help  him 
from  the  beginning.  And  the  Emperor  of  Russia  has  heard 
such  reports  of  the  wonderful  restorative  powers  of  this 
skilful  manipulator  of  plaster,  that  he  has  ordered  an 
Alhambra  for  himself,  a copy  of  this  series  of  ruined  pal- 
aces, which  he  will  keep  for  a curiosity  on  the  banks  of  the 
Neva.  In  the  midst  of  the  court  is  a fountain  supported 
by  twelve  marble  lions,  in  the  centre  of  a vast  alabaster 
basin.  Standing  on  the  four  sides  of  it  are  124  white  mar- 
ble pillars,  sustaining  a light  gallery  and  a pavilion  project- 
ing into  the  court,  elaborately  adorned  with  filagree-worked 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


137 


walls,  and  a domed  roof  that  admits  the  tempered  light 
and  excludes  the  heat  of  the  sun.  This  fountain  too  has 
been  filled  with  blood,  for  here  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
luxury  of  splendid  decorations  the  children  of  Abu  Hazen 
were  beheaded  by  the  order  of  their  own  father.  One  only 
was  spared,  and  he  lived  to  regret  it ; for  he  lived  to  be 
the  famous  and  unhappy  Boabdil,  the  last  of  the  Moorish 
kings  of  Granada.  The  next  hall  into  which  we  will  enter 
is  that  of  the  Abencer rages,  an  illustrious  family,  who  fell 
under  suspicion  of  disloyalty  to  the  throne.  The  wily  mon- 
arch invited  all  the  leaders  of  this  line  to  a feast,  and  when 
they  had  been  sumptuously  entertained,  they  were  invited, 
one  by  one,  to  the  Court  of  Lions,  which  we  have  just  left, 
and  each  man’s  head  was  cut  off  as  he  entered.  The  dark 
spots  on  the  marble  floor  are,  of  course,  kept  sacredly  dark 
from  year  to  year,  in  memory  of  the  treacherous  punish- 
ment of  imaginary  treason. 

The  most  magnificent  of  all  the  halls  is  that  of  the 
Ambassadors.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  apartments,  and  is 
seventy-five  feet  high.  It  was  the  grand  reception-room, 
where  the  throne  of  the  Sultan  was  placed,  and  around  the 
sides  of  the  room  are  niches  where  each  one  of  the  ambas- 
sadors of  foreign  courts  was  seated  in  state,  on  great  occa- 
sions. The  ceiling  is  curiously  wrought  in  different  colors, 
— blue,  white,  and  gold,  inlaid  wood  in  crowns  and  stars 
and  wheels.  All  around  are  inscriptions  celebrating  the 
praises  of  the  kings,  and  couched  in  the  panegyric  imagery 
of  the  Oriental  style. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  read,  if  I had  patience  to  describe, 
the  many  courts  and  halls  and  baths,  saloons  and  chambers, 
the  galleries  leading  to  them,  the  little  gardens  where  the 
sun  looks  kindly  down  upon  a few  plants  and  flowers,  and 
to  tell  you  of  the  thousand-and-one  tales  with  which  so 
many  of  these  towers  and  chambers  have  been  made 
historic.  Murder  has  followed  close  on  the  heels  of 


138 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


jealousy,  in  all  ages,  and  under  a system  that  makes 
intrigue  and  lust  the  great  amusement  of  life,  the  history 
of  the  harem  has  always  been  a story  of  suspicion  and 
blood. 


Portion  of  a Door. 


Bensaken  is  the  guide  to  the  Alhambra.  Others  are 
willing  to  lead  you  through  the  labyrinth,  and  will  talk  to 
you  as  they  go,  in  a mixture  of  Spanish,  Italian,  French, 
and  English,  with  a dash  of  Arabic,  which  they  have 
picked  up  from  the  translations  of  inscriptions  on  the 
walls  ; but  they  are  all  ignorant  fellows,  who  live  by  the 
ignorance  of  those  to  whom  they  tell  their  stories.  Now 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


139 


Bensaken  is  an  Englishman,  born  in  Gibraltar,  and  has 
lived  to  be  seventy  years  old  in  Spain  ; has  been  through 
all  these  years  adding  to  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  its 
history  and  its  condition,  especially  all  that  relates  to  the 
Moors,  Granada,  and  the  Alhambra,  until  he  has  grown 
into  a walking  cyclopedia  of  Spanish  lore.  And  this 
learning  of  his  he  guards  so  cautiously  that  when  other 
guides  and  interpreters,  with  travellers  so  unhappy  as  to 
have  fallen  into  their  hands,  would  come  near  to  us  while 
our  learned  Bensaken  was  discoursing  to  us  of  the  wonder- 
ful mysteries  of  the  Alhambra,  its  legends  and  its  uses,  he 
would  suddenly  pause  in  his  interesting  narrations,  and 
begging  pardon  for  his  silence,  would  wait  until  they  had 
passed  beyond  hearing  ; for,  said  our  veracious  and  most 
agreeable  Bensaken,  “ I cannot  afford  to  let  them  fellows 
know  what  I have  been  learning  all  these  years  of  my  life, 
I have  forgot  enough  to  set  all  of  them  up  in  business.” 

“ Did  you  know  our  countryman,  Washington  Irving, 
when  he  was  here  ? ” I inquired. 

“ Oh  yes,  and  a nice,  worthy  gentleman  he  was : so  kind, 
so  pleasant  always  ; but  he  did  not  keep  very  closely  to 
the  facts : to  tell  you  the  truth,  those  are  very  beautiful 
stories  of  Mr.  Irving,  but  the  most  of  them  are  all  in  your 
eye,  sir.” 

“ He  speaks  of  the  good  people  who  lived  here  when  he 
lodged  in  the  Alhambra,  and  a fair  maiden  to  whom  he 
gave  the  name  of  Dolores,  and  a noble  young  man,  Molina, 
or  something  like  that ; what  ever  became  of  them,  can 
you  tell  me  ? ” 

Bensaken  gave  a low  little  laugh,  and  said  that  Dolores 
was  a coarse  and  dowdy  drudge,  whom  the  warm  imagina- 
tion of  the  author  had  invested  with  purely  rhetorical 
charms,  and  the  other  occupants  of  the  palace  had  no 
claims  to  distinction.  One  of  them  whom  he  mentioned 
was  murdered  in  a street  brawl,  and  the  whole  family  had 


140 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


passed  into  oblivion.  Yet  their  names  will  live  in  the  sto- 
ries of  the  Alhambra  while  the  genial  and  smoothly  flowing 
pages  of  Irving  are  read  as  the  pleasantest  and  most 
reliable  account  of  the  traditions  of  this  wondrous  pile. 

We  went  down  into  the  garden  of  the  Queen’s  prison, 
and  on  a little  patch  of  green  we  stood  while  Bensaken 
pointed  to  the  gallery  where  she  was  permitted  to  walk 
and  take  the  air  and  enjoy  the  sunlight,  but  the  various 
chambers  to  which  she  was  restricted  had  no  exit.  This 
was  not  very  close  confinement,  to  be  sure,  but  it  becomes 
intolerable,  even  the  luxury  of  a palace,  with  a flower  gar- 
den in  its  court,  and  gorgeous  hangings  and  gilded  ceilings 
and  marvellous  sculptures,  if  the  royal  lodger  is  a prisoner, 
and  hopes  for  no  exit  but  through  the  gate  that  opens  in 
the  tomb. 

And  then  we  visited  the  “ Hall  of  Two  Sisters,”  so  fanci- 
fully named  because  of  two  immense  marble  slabs,  which 
form  a part  of  the  pavement.  The  decorations  of  this 
apartment  are  exceedingly  beautiful.  The  stalactite  roof 
is  said  to  consist  of  5,000  pieces,  and  though  all  this  plas- 
ter ornamentation  is  supported  only  by  reeds,  it  remains 
almost  unbroken  as  it  was  when  first  put  up.  These  were 
the  private  apartments  of  the  wives  and  slaves  of  the  Sul- 
tan, and  were  furnished  with  couches  and  divans,  and  the 
walls  are  covered  with  love  poems,  in  the  glowing  language 
of  the  East,  celebrating  the  sensual  delights  of  these 
voluptuaries  of  the  harem.  All  that  architecture  and 
upholstery,  poetry  and  taste  could  supply  for  the  embel- 
lishment of  chambers  of  pleasure,  were  lavished  with 
wasteful  profusion  here,  or,  to  use  the  more  familiar  terms 
of  our  Western  phraseology,  “ they  were  got  up  regardless 
of  expense.” 

Passing  out  upon  a balcony  we  looked  down  upon  the 
Linder  aka  gardens,  which  once  were  the  delight  of  a prin- 
cess whose  name,  Linda  Raxa,  was  the  same  as  Pretty 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


141 

Rachel ; she  became  a Christian,  and  her  story,  if  put  into 
the  hands  of  a skilful  manufacturer,  would  make  a beautiful 
romance,  with  more  truth  than  is  necessary  for  half  a dozen 
modern  historical  novels.  The  dressing-room  of  the  Queen 
in  one  of  the  towers  has  a look-out  upon  the  surrounding 
.country;  the  Sierra  Nevada,  rising  1 1,000  feet,  and  so  near 
in  this  clear  atmosphere  that  it  seems  close  at  hand,  and 
one  feels  the  coolness  of  the  snow-cliffs  on  its  sides  ; there 
is  the  house,  now  a college,  where  Christians  suffered 
martyrdom  under  Domitian  and  Nero ; those  huts  in  the 
hill  in  front  and  those  holes  into  the  hill  itself  are  the  habi- 
tations of  gypsies,  whose  home  is  Spain,  and  who  are  very 
numerous  in  these  parts ; the  city  of  Granada  itself  lies  at 
our  feet ; once  it  had  more  than  a thousand  towers,  and 
now  it  has  more  than  500,  and  they  are  monuments  of 
departed  glory.  Yet  there  is  nothing  in  the  city  so  mourn- 
fully eloquent  of  human  folly  and  frailty  as  the  ruin  in  which 
we  are  standing.  Here  is  a wide  marble  slab,  pierced  with 
twelve  holes,  and  below  the  slab  is  the  chamber  where  the 
perfume  was  prepared,  and  as  it  ascended  the  Queen  stood 
over  these  holes,  and  was  made  suitably  fragrant ! In  the 
days  of  Esther  similar  means  were  evidently  in  use,  and 
they  were  probably  quite  as  salutary  and  agreeable  as  the 
modern  condensations  which  in  a bag  or  bottle  furnish  the 
necessary  facilities  for  making  lovely  woman  odorous  to  her 
friends. 

Down  below  was  a suite  of  rooms  where  the  baths  for 
the  Sultan  and  the  children  were  arranged,  with  pipes  for 
the  supply  of  hot  and  cold  water,  as  convenient  as  in  “ a 
house  with  all  the  modern  improvements.”  Places  for 
couches,  galleries  for  musicians  whose  melodies  would 
make  the  luxury  of  the  bath  more  enjoyable ; the  pavement 
is  of  white  marble,  the  roof  is  pierced  with  holes  like  stars, 
and  the  whole  arrangement  corresponds  with  the  baths  of 
Turkey  and  Cairo  at  the  present  day. 


142 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


And  the  long  passage  through  which  we  were  now  con- 
ducted led  to  the  dungeons  of  the  castle ; most  of  them  are 
walled  up,  but  one  was  left  open  that  we  might  see  how 


short  and  easy  was  the  mode  of  disposing  of  an  unhappy 
victim  of  jealousy  or  revenge,  who  could  be  built  into  a 
recess  and  find  it  a dying  bed  and  grave.  It  was  a long 
subterranean  walk  till  we  came  out  to  the  governor’s  court. 


The  Vermilion  Tower. 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


143 


Here  I saw  what  I had  not  supposed  to  be  possible,  — a 
marble  slab  bent  into  the  shape  of  a bow  by  the  weight  of  a 
wall  falling  and  resting  upon  it. 

On  every  balcony  and  at  every  window  the  wise  Bensaken 
was  ready  with  a tale  of  love,  or  blood,  or  gold  ; and  it 
would  be  hard  to  say  in  which  he  most  delighted  to  indulge. 
He  was  sure  that  out  of  this  window  the  beautiful  Zoraya, 
the  “ Morning  Star  ” of  Abu  Hazen,  she  that  was  once 
Dona  Isabel  de  Solis,  a fair  Christian  captive  who  became 
the  favorite  Sultana,  and  the  mother  of  Boabdil,  let  him 
down  by  a basket  into  an  abyss  from  which  he  escaped  and 
saved  his  life,  to  become  afterwards  the  last  of  the  race  of 
princes  here.  But  I must  tell  you  one  of  his  stories  that 
he  knows  to  be  true,  and  which  has  never  yet  been  entered 
into  any  chronicles  of  the  Alhambra. 


144 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  ALHAMBRA  ( Continued ). 

"DLASICHO,  or,  in  good  English,  poor  Bias,  was  an 
honest  worker  in  leather,  a mender  of  soles,  in  the 
city  of  Granada.  There  are  streets  in  this  queer  old  town 
wholly  given  up  to  one  or  another  handicraft,  and  it  is 
rather  pleasing  than  otherwise  to  see  the  rule  disproved 
that  two  of  a trade  can  never  agree.  Perhaps  it  is  easier 
for  a whole  street  full  of  cobblers,  or  tinkers,  or  carders,  or 
smiths,  to  live  in  peace,  than  it  would  be  for  only  two  rivals 
in  trade,  who  would  be  jealous  of  each  other  as  natural 
foes.  It  was  curious  to  follow  the  walks  along  and  see 
the  little  shops,  sometimes  not  more  than  five  or  ten  feet 
square,  filled  with  the  wares  and  the  workmen,  so  that  a 
customer  would  have  had  hard  work  to  wedge  himself  in 
if  he  would  be  measured  for  a coat  or  boots,  or  examine 
the  goods  for  sale.  It  looked  as  if  there  were  some  people 
willing  to  work,  though  we  heard  of  a shoemaker  who  was 
called  upon  by  a traveller  like  ourselves  to  repair  his  dilapi- 
dated shoe : the  cobbler  called  out  to  his  wife  to  tell  him 
how  much  money  there  was  on  hand,  and  learning  that  she 
had  enough  to  get  them  supper,  he  declined  doing  the 
work.  This  was  in  literal  compliance  with  the  Spanish  rule 
which  requires  a man  never  to  do  to-day  what  can  be  put 
off  till  to-morrow. 

Blasicho  had  a hard  time  of  it  to  get  work  enough  to 
earn  the  bread  that  his  wife  and  his  little  ones  must  have 
from  day  to  day,  and  he  hated  work,  as  all  his  neighbors 
did,  and  all  his  race  do.  If  he  had  a wife  with  a cheerful 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


145 


temper,  to  cheer  him  as  he  beat  his  leather  on  his  knee,  per- 
haps it  would  have  been  better  for  him  and  his,  for  it  does 
make  work  light  and  easy  to  have  a good-natured  woman 
near  at  hand,  to  say  a pleasant  word  and  hear  even  one’s 
complaints  with  a sympathetic  smile.  But  the  wife  of 
Blasicho  was  neither  fair  to  look  upon  nor  gentle  in  her 
temper,  and  she  led  the  poor  cobbler  a vexed  and  weary  life 
of  it.  His  lapstone  was  not  harder  than  the  heart  of  his 
spouse,  and  the  blows  that  he  gave  it  were  more  in  number, 
but  not  more  severe,  than  she  rained  upon  him,  when  their 
words  grew  into  quarrels  that  always  ended  in  the  thorough 
discomfiture  of  the  man  of  the  house.  Her  great  sorrow 
was  that  she  had  not  wealth : her  sisters  had  found  hus- 
bands who  could  give  them  the  best  of  every  thing,  and  as 
much  as  they  required  to  make  fine  ladies  of  them,  but  she 
had  married  a cobbler  too  poor  to  live  without  work,  and 
too  lazy  to  work,  and  the  only  blessing  they  had  in  abun- 
dance was  a flock  of  children  that  grew  in  stature  and 
numbers  every  year,  and  demanded  more  and  more  to 
keep  them  alive.  She  dinned  her  woes  into  his  ears,  and 
his  poor  soul  was  worried  to  despair  by  the  ceaseless 
pother  of  her  querulous  tongue. 

He  wanted  money.  If  California  had  been  part  of  the 
known  world  in  the  day  of  Blasicho’s  misery,  his  greed 
would  have  driven  him  to  the  mines  in  search  of  gold. 
But  gold  he  must  have,  or  his  wife  would  worry  him  to 
death.  He  had  heard  that  the  Moors  had  left  heaps  of 
gold  in  the  earth  all  around  him,  and  if  he  had  some  rod 
to  guide  him  to  the  sacred  spot  where  the  'treasure  was 
concealed,  it  would  be  the  making  of  him  for  life,  to  dig 
it  and  carry  it  home  to  gladden  the  heart  of  his  discon- 
tented wife,  and  stop  the  everlasting  run  of  her  complain- 
ing tongue.  Day  after  day  he  walked  around  the  hill  of 
which  the  Alhambra  in  its  glory  and  decay  is  still  the 
crown,  and  he  studied  the  projecting  rocks  and  the  graceful 

10 


146 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


curves  and  gentle  depressions,  and  the  peculiar  growth 
of  the  citron  and  pomegranate,  to  discover  some  signs 
of  a place  where  it  might  be  that  in  the  olden  time  some 
Moorish  miser,  or  in  later  time  some  Spanish  pirate  com- 
ing home  from  foreign  pleasures,  had  buried  his  gold. 
His  hope  was  suddenly  kindled  into  certainty.  One  sunny 
morning  he  was  taking  his  daily  walk  about  the  sacred  hill, 
and  passing  through  the  deep  cut  on  the  eastern  side, 
where  far  above  his  head  the  aqueduct  with  the  waters  of 
the  river  run  into  the  Alhambra  with  its  refreshing  and 
ceaseless  flow,  he  sat  down  to  rest  awhile  and  muse  upon 
his  hapless  lot,  and  the  hopeless  search  in  which  he  was 
wasting  his  days.  He  looked  up  at  the  craggy  side  through 
which  the  red  rock  cropped,  and  on  the  scanty  soil  in  which 
the  almond  shrubs  were  struggling  to  hold  their  own,  and 
he  was  wishing  that  one  of  those  red  rocks  were  a ruby  or 
even  a lump  of  gold,  when  a dove,  whose  home  was  in  the 
Tower  of  Comares,  flew  down  upon  a projecting  rock,  and 
cocking  his  eye  most  knowingly,  looked  below  as  if  it  saw 
something  there  that  would  be  worth  having.  Blasicho  ob- 
served the  motion,  and  the  thought  came  to  him  that  the 
dove  was  a messenger  to  point  him  to  the  spot  where  his 
treasure  lay.  He  took  note  of  the  rock,  and  drew  a line, 
with  his  eye,  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  where  the  bird’s  eye 
had  guided  his.  search.  A few  feet  from  the  path,  up  the 
cliff-side,  was  a ledge  of  rock,  and  it  was  easy  to  see  that, 
a century  or  two  ago,  a man  might  have  stood  on  it  and 
worked  into  the  mountain  and  buried  his  gold.  The  ledge 
would  be  the  mark  by  which  he  could  find  it,  and  its  height 
was  such  that  no  one  would  suspect  that  such  a spot  would 
be  chosen  as  a hiding-place  for  money. 

Poor  Bias  went  home  with  his  head  full  of  the  dove  and 
the  gold.  All  day  as  he  sat  on  his  bench  pretending  to  work, 
the  beautiful  neck  of  the  dove,  with  his  head  turned  side- 
ways, and  his  one  eye  down  looking  to  the  ledge,  was  before 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


147 


him.  That  night  he  dreamed  that  he  went  there  and  broke 
into  the  hill  with  a pick  and  found  a heap  of  gold.  The 
next  morning  he  went  there  and  the  dove  came  again,  and 
again  she  peered  into  the  ledge  from  above,  and  again  Bla- 
sicho  was  comforted  with  the  strengthened  hope.  He 
dreamed  the  second  time  the  same,  and  came  the  third 
morning  and  the  dove  met  him  as  before ; and  again,  the 
third  night,  he  dreamed  that  he  burst  into  the  mountain 
and  was  the  possessor  of  more  gold  than  his  insatiable 
spouse  had  ever  dreamed  of  having.  This  was  more  than 
the  anxious  cobbler  could  endure  and  be  quiet.  That  night 
in  the  darkness  and  alone,  for  there  was  no  one  in  Granada 
he  could  trust  with  his  discovery,  Blasicho  sought  the 
ravine,  climbed  cautiously  to  the  ledge  with  a bar  of  iron  to 
aid  him  in  his  burglary.  He  struck  in  vigorously,  for  it 
might  be  a long  night’s  work,  and  time  was  precious.  The 
hollow  sound  that  answered  his  blows  quickened  his  heart- 
beats, for  it  assured  him  there  was  a chamber  within.  The 
debris  was  fast  piling  at  his  feet.  He  was  already  inside 
the  hill.  He  heard  something  grating,  rattling  above  and 
near  him  ; he  rose  to  his  feet  only  to  be  struck  with  a 
land-slip  which  his  digging  had  started  : it  caught  him, 
dashed  him  off  his  perch,  buried  him,  bruised  him,  half 
killed  him,  at  the  foot  of  his  golden  hill.  The  poor  fellow 
struggled  from  underneath  the. mass  of  dirt  and  stones,  and 
luckily  finding  no  bones  were  broken,  but  more  dead  than 
alive,  he  crept  home  and  went  to  sleep,  while  his  wife  was 
dinging  into  his  ears  her  reproaches  for  his  bad  habits  of 
being  out  late  at  nights.  He  was  cured  of  hunting  for  gold 
in  the  dark.  He  became  a new  man,  a new  cobbler.  His 
early  hammer  advertised  his  conversion.  Business  revived. 
He  had  to  have  some  more  help  in  the  shop.  The  shop  was 
soon  too  small.  He  wanted  to  enlarge  it,  and  for  that  pur- 
pose he  got  permission  of  his  landlord  to  dig  away  the  hill 
in  the  rear  to  make  room  for  an  extension.  This  work  he 


148 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


performed  with  his  own  hands  after  the  day’s  work  in  the 
shop.  That  digging  made  him  rich  ! What  he  found  he 
had  wit  enough  to  keep  secret,  even  from  his  wife,  for  if 
his  landlord  should  hear  of  it,  he  would  lay  claim  to  it  as  in 
his  soil.  But  Blasicho  went  on  with  his  cobbling  and  build- 
ing. He  bought  a few  lots  in  one  of  the  fashionable  quarters 
of  Granada,  and  to  each  of  his  daughters,  to  whom  suitors 
came  in  numbers,  now  that  he  was  evidently  prosperous,  he 
gave  a handsome  house  and  portion. 

More  than  all,  and  better,  his  wife’s  temper  improved. 
He  and  she  still  lived  over  the  shop,  but  the  apartments 
were  embellished  with  all  the  comforts  that  the  amiable 
woman  wanted,  and  she  was  proud,  and  not  humbled,  when 
her  sisters  came  to  see  her.  None  of  them  knew  the  source 
of  his  sudden  wealth,  and  indeed  he  was  cunning  enough 
to  develop  gradually,  .so  that  it  \vas  attributed  to  his  in- 
creasing business,  and  his  good  luck  in  trade. 

He  knew  that  it  all  came  of  his  being  cured  of  money 
digging,  and  sticking  to  his  work.  He  had  never  heard  of 
the  Latin  proverb,  lie  sutor  ultra  crepidam , — let  the  cobbler 
stick  to  his  last,  — but  he  knew  the  soundness  of  the  prin- 
ciple. And  he  taught  his  grandchildren,  who  were  fond  of 
visiting  him,  that  when  he  tried  to  get  rich  in  a hurry  he 
got  nothing  but  wounds  and  bruises  ; but  when  he  worked 
faithfully  and  steadily  at  his  trade,  prosperity  followed  his 
labors,  and  his  days  were  crowned  with  plenty,  contentment, 
and  love. 

An  old  woman  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  stone  stairway,  and 
took  the  fee  that  admitted  us  to  the  Watch  Tower.  On  the 
southern  edge  of  the  hill,  and  rising  high  above  the  rampart, 
the  broad  flat  roof  of  the  tower  affords  an  off-look  that 
scarcely  has  an  equal  for  beauty  of  prospect  and  interest 
in  historical  association.  A bell  swings  in  a turret ; the 
rope  hangs  within  reach  ; and  there  is  magic  in  the  ring. 
For  the  second  day  of  January  is  a great  fete  day  in  Gran- 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


149 


ada,  — the  anniversary  of  the  capture  of  the  city  by  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  in  1492,  — and  every  maiden  who  ascends 
this  tower  on  that  day,  and  rings  the  bell  with  her  own  hand, 
is  sure  to  have  a wedding  ring  on  her  hand  in  the  course 
of  the  year.  The  bell  therefore  rings  right  merrily  on  the 
fete  day  from  early  morn  to  set  of  sun,  and  the  sign  is  as 
sure  as  any  of  the  man^that  love  and  folly  have  conjured. 

And  in  the  far  west,  across  the  plain,  rise  the  Para- 
panda  Mountains,  on  whose  top  a cloud  resting  is  a sign  of 
rain,  and  when  it  hangs  there  they  say  it  will  rain  “ if  God 
wills  ; ” but  if  the  cloud  descends  the  mountain-side  they 
say  “ it  will  rain  if  God  wills  or  no.” 

There  too,  off  on  the  verge  of  the  plain,  lies  a farm  of 
4,000  acres  which  the  Spanish  government  gave  to  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  for  his  expulsion  of  the  French,  and 
his  heirs  now  derive  a revenue  of  some  $20,000  annually 
from  the  land. 

And  that  gap  in  the  mountains  is  the  pass  where  Moor 
and  Christian,  the  Cross  and  Crescent,  have  encountered 
each  other  in  murderous  fight,  when  knights  in  armor  met 
hand  to  hand,  and  in  protracted  battles  far  more  bloody 
and  fierce  than  in  our  modern  warfare  they  contended  for 
the  possession  of  this  beautiful  vale. 

It  is  called  the  vega,  or  the  plain,  and  from  the  watch- 
tower  on  which  we  are  now  standing  we  have  the  best 
view  of  it.  Two  rivers,  like  those  that  watered  Paradise, 
flow  across  it,  — the  Darro,  which  the  Moors  called  Hadaroh 
and  the  Romans  Calom,  and  the  Genii,  which  the  ancients 
knew  as  the  river  Singilis.  This  fertile  and  beautiful 
plain  stretches  thirty  miles  or  more  away  from  the  city  of 
Granada,  like  a vast  amphitheatre,  a prairie  sea : now 
and  then  a white  cluster  of  houses,  a little  village,  like  an 
island  on  the  surface  of  this  great  ocean  of  corn  and  wine. 
The  snow-clad  heights  of  Sierra  Nevada  rise  to  the  bluest 
of  blue  heavens  that  cover  it  as  an  infinite  dome,  and 


i5o 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  five-hundred-towered  city  stands  on  this  rocky  height 
in  the  midst  of  this  magnificent  panorama,  the  green  mead- 
ows and  vineyards  of  the  vega  below,  the  white-capped 
mountains  around,  and  the  cerulean  skies,  so  pure,  so  deep, 
so  lovingly  bending  over  and  embracing  the  whole. 

But  the  bell  on  the  watch-tower  answers  a better  pur- 
pose than  merely  to  ring  husbands  for  the  lively  Spanish 
girls.  This  plain  is  to  be  watered  by  these  rivers,  and 
they  must  be  led  away  from  their  own  banks  by  artificial 
channels  to  the  thousands  of  plantations  into  which  it  is 
divided.  But  the  rivers  are  not  sufficient  to  allow  the 
continuous  flow  of  water  through  all  these  canals  for  irri- 
gation, and  the  time  and  quantity  of  water  are  regulated 
by  law.  Each  man  has  his  water-gate,  through  which  the 
stream  is  to  come,  and  the  hour  when  he  is  to  open  his 
gate  and  when  to  close  is  announced  from  the  tower.  At 
the  stroke  of  one,  all  within  a certain  distance  open  their 
gates,  and  the  water  flews  in  upon  their  fields,  until 
the  bell  strikes  again,  when  they  close,  and  the  next  open 
theirs,  and  so  the  supply  is  extended  from  one  to  another 
and  the  whole  plain  is  watered. 

The  “ Sigh  of  the  Moor  ” is  the  name  of  that  mountain 
in  the  south-east  horizon,  on  the  way  to  the  sea-coast,  and 
it  gets  its  name  from  the  tradition  that  when  the  last  of 
the  Moorish  kings,  the  unhappy  Boabdil  of  whom  we  have 
been  speaking  often,  was  flying  from  the  city,  he  paused 
here,  and  as  he  looked  back  upon  Granada  “he  saw  a 
light  cloud  of  smoke  burst  from  the  beautiful  and  beloved 
Alhambra,  and  presently  a peal  of  artillery  told  that  the 
throne  of  the  Moslem  kings  was  lost  for  ever.  ‘ Allah 
Achbar,  God  is  great  ! ’ he  exclaimed  ; and,  unable  to  refrain 
his  grief,  he  burst  into  a flood  of  tears.  ‘ Weep  not,’  said 
his  mother,  the  stern  proud  Azeshah,  ‘weep  not  as  a 
woman  for  the  loss  of  a kingdom  which  you  knew  not 
how  to  defend  as  a man.’  ” 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


151 

As  Bensaken  pointed  to  the  mountain  of  “ El  Ultimo 
Suspiro  del  Moro,”  and  told  this  sad  story  of  the  Sigh  of 
the  Moor,  the  tears  stood„in  the  old  man’s  eyes,  and  he  was 
actually  in  sympathy  with  the  Moor  Boabdil  who  ran  away 
from  this  tower  nearly  four  hundred  years  ago. 

Behind  those  hills,  and  in  the  valley  beyond,  there  are  to 
this  day  villages  inhabited  by  a race  of  people  who  retain 
the  Moorish  manners  and  customs,  mingling  the  Roman 
and  Mahometan  forms  of  worship,  using  no  knives  or 
forks,  but  eating  with  their  fingers,  in  the  Oriental  style, 
and  preserving  with  traditional  jealousy  the  prejudices  of 
the  race  that  has  been  so  long  extinct  in  Spain.  Rarely 
does  a traveller  climb  the  heights  that  stand  between  those 
settlements  and  the  higher  civilization  of  the  plains  and 
cities,  but  the  few  who  push  their  adventurous  way  into 
those  uninviting  regions  find  themselves  suddenly  carried 
back  into  life  and  times  of  which  we  read  now-a-days  as  if 
in  the  pages  of  romance. 

Walking  across  the  tower,  we  look  down  into  a court, 
where  a guard  of  soldiers  is  keeping  watch  over  a prison  ! 
And,  to  our  amazement,  we  find  that  we  are  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  walls  that  contain  four  or  five  hundred  politi- 
cal prisoners,  who  are  here  in  durance  vile  for  real  or 
suspected  offences.  It  is  not  the  fashion  at  present  to 
put  to  death  political  offenders,  and  the  poor  fellows  that 
are  shut  up  in  these  walls,  hopeless  and  helpless,  are  per- 
haps on  the  whole  disposed  to  think  themselves  better 
off  than  if  they  had  lost  their  heads.  Once  the  late 
queen  punished  the  whole  of  her  congress,  some  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  sent  them  to  prison,  or  foreign  parts,  think- 
ing that  their  room  was  worth  more  than  the  advice 
they  were  disposed  to  give  her.  Some  of  the  prisoners 
here  confined  are  men  of  high  social  standing  and  of  com- 
manding influence  in  the  country,  but  in  the  miserable 
strife  for  power  and  wealth,  and  the  game  of  politics,  which 


152 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


is  more  corrupt,  if  possible,  here  in  Spain  than  in  our  own 
country,  they  have  fallen  victims  to  successful  rivals,  and 
are  now  wasting  away  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Alhambra. 
Some  of  them  had  obtained  the  special  favor  of  working  in 
the  gardens  and  among  the  flowers  and  shrubbery  ; and, 
under  the  genial  beams  of  the  bright  sun  in  winter,  they 
found  a grateful  mitigation  of  their  sufferings. 

We  had  seen  enough  for  one  day,  and  took  a ride  over 
the  city.  Bensaken  pointed  out,  as  we  passed  the  modest 
mansion  in  which  the  late  beautiful  Empress  of  the  French 
was  born.  Her  father,  Count  Montejo,  fell  in  love  with  a 
daughter  of  the  British  consul  at  Malaga,  Mr.  Kirkpatrick, 
whose  name  unites  Scotland  and  Ireland.  The  count  mar- 
ried her,  and  Eugenie  is  their  daughter.  Her  grandfather 
is  therefore  a Scotch-Irish-English  gentleman.  Some  of 
her  relatives  are  not  of  much  account.  One  of  them 
asked  of  me  the  gift  of  a glass  of  whiskey. 

Not  far  from  the  Alhambra,  and  a pleasant  walk  across 
the  fields,  is  the  Generaliffe,  a pleasure-palace  in  olden 
time,  a retreat  in  the  country  from  the  more  stately  gran- 
deur and  closer  confinement  of  the  citadel. 

It  has  been  preserved  with  greater  care,  or  perhaps 
restored  from  time  to  time,  and  is  now  one  of  the  most 
interesting  remnants  of  the  Moorish  dynasty.  Its  courts 
are  paved  with  marbles,  gladdened  with  fountains  and  flow- 
ers, and  from  some  of  them  tall  cypresses  rise,  which  in 
other  countries  would  rather  adorn  a burial-place  than  a 
palace  court.  One  of  them  is  the  famous  tree  under  which 
the  beautiful  Sultana  Zoraya  was  sitting  when  one  of  the 
Abencerrages  came  to  prefer  a petition,  and  being  seen  to 
kneel  before  her,  was  suspected  of  making  love,  and  her 
life  and  that  of  all  his  family  was  the  forfeit.  Bensaken 
was  greatly  provoked  by  the  evident  disposition  of  the 
•writers  of  historical  tales  to  insinuate  that  the  Queen  was 
actually  receiving  a lover,  while  he  makes  out  a case  of 


THE  ALHAMBRA. 


153 


innocence  and  positively  merciful  virtue  that  would  melt 
a heart  of  stone. 

But  if  Bensaken  was  kind  in  his  judgment  of  the  ancient 
Queen,  whose  guilt  or  innocence  will  never  be  made  the 
subject  of  inquiry  before  a court  of  impeachment  in  this 
world,  he  was  less  inclined  to  say  a good  word  for  the 
women  of  Spain.  And  in  this  matter  he  was  no  harder 
on  them  than  others  who  have  lived  long  enough  in  this 
demonstrative  country  to  know  the  facts  in  the  case.  The 
women  of  Spain  are,  as  a nation,  more  beautiful  than  those 
of  any  foreign  country  in  which  I have  travelled,  an$  this 
average  beauty  covers  the  peasant  classes  as  well  as  the 
better-born.  This  is  to  be  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  fact  stated  by  all  who  are  familiar  with  Spain,  that 
virtue  is  scarcely  known.  It  is  impossible,  without  dis- 
regard of  the  proprieties,  to  go  into  the  statistics  which 
an  illustration  of  this  fact  would  require.  I was  repeatedly 
assured  that  ladies  would  regard  it  as  a reproach,  an  evi- 
dence that  they  were  slighted,  if  they  had  not  an  acknowl- 
edged lover  besides  their  legal  lord.  Of  course  the  men 
are  worse  than  the  women,  if  worse  can  be,  and  little  or 
no  disgrace  can  be  said  to  accrue  when  the  vice  is  so  com- 
mon that  virtue  is  an  exception,  and  is  despised  at  that. 
If  it  be  asked,  how  can  such  a state  of  things  be,  when 
the  church  embraces  in  its  bosom  all  the  people,  young 
and  old,  and  confession  is  required  of  all  who  commune  ? 
the  answer  is  easy.  The  forced  celibacy  of  the  priests 
tends  to  corruption,  and  they  have  no  moral  power  over 
the  people,  unless  it  be  a moral  power  for  evil.  And  this 
vice  is  not  necessarily  a vice  of  a Roman  Catholic  people : 
it  is  the  vice  of  the  climate:  as  genial  to  the  south  as 
intemperance  in  drink  is  to  the  north.  We  must  be  chari- 
table in  our  judgments  of  our  neighbors  and  our  fellow- 
sinners  everywhere.  It  is  a very  common  impression  that 
the  sins  of  a people  are  fashioned  by  the  type  of  the  reli- 


154 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


gion  they  profess  ; and  that  this  vice,  which  prevails  all 
over  the  south  of  Europe,  has  some  relation  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  which  is  also  the  ruling  influence  of 
church  and  state.  Doubtless  the  reformation  of  the 
church  would  reform  the  state  also,  but  human  nature 
will  remain  substantially  the  same,  and  the  vices  peculiar 
to  the  climate  would  still  discover  themselves  to  a greater 
or  less  extent.  Under  the  Protestant  influences  of  the 
north  of  Europe,  intemperance  prevails  fearfully.  So  it 
does  in  our  country,  in  spite  of  the  highest  moral  culture 
and  the  best  opportunities  of  education.  Religion  in  its 
purest  forms  does  not  reach  the  masses  of  mankind  in  any 
country  so  as  to  save  all  of  them  from  vice,  and  in  its 
imperfect  development,  as  in  Romish  or  half-reformed 
countries,  it  is  even  less  powerful  to  deter  the  multitude 
from  evil. 


GRANADA. 


*55 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

GRANADA. 

W 7HEN  we  came  down  this  evening  from  the  Generaliffe, 
* ^ we  found  a curious  group  in-  the  vestibule  of  the 
inn  where  we  were  lodged,  and  a picture  of  troubadour  and 
gypsy  life  in  Spain  was  before  us  suddenly.  A dwarf,  so 
stout  and  short  as  to  be  a monster  in  his  appearance,  and 
two  or  three  girls  to  sing  and  play  with  a rude  tambourine, 
made  hideous  dancing.  The  landlord  and  landlord’s  wife, 
the  two  daughters  of  the  landlord  and  their  husbands,  — 
two  lazy  fellows  who  helped  one  another  do  nothing  all  day 
long,  — were  seated  around,  enjoying  the  scene.  The  short 
fellow  was  short  mainly  in  his  legs,  which,  indeed,  were 
not  much  longer  than  his  neck ; and  the  antics  he  cut  up 
were  grotesque  and  ludicrous  in  the  extreme.  But  who 
could  refrain  from  joining  in  the  dance  to  the  music,  rude 
as  it  was  ? The  landlord's  daughters  could  not,  and  with  a 
little  coaxing  the  dandy  husbands  were  brought  upon  the 
floor ; other  young  people,  hearing  the  fun,  dropped  in,  the 
frolic  became  general,  and  we  were  treated  to  an  impromptu 
Spanish  fandango,  of  which  I do  not  propose  to  be  the  re- 
porter. It  was  not  amusing  merely,  but  interesting  also  to 
observe  the  phase  of  lower  life  among  these  people,  and  to 
see  how  easily  they  could  find  entertainment  without  going 
out  of  doors  to  get  it.  The  ugly  dwarf  went  through  the 
company,  cap  in  hand,  gathered  a few  pence,  and  with  his 
little  troupe  hobbled  off  to  try  his  luck  at  some  other  place. 
They  told  me  that  he  lives  in  the  mountains,  many  leagues 


THE  ALHAMBRA  (From  the  Ceneraliffe). 


GRANADA. 


57 


away  from  Granada,  but  comes  down  to  town,  during  the 
season  of  company,  to  exhibit  himself.  And  in  this,  too, 
he  is  not  unlike  the  degraded  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
who  are  always  willing  to  make  a living  by  their  deformities, 
if  they  can  get  a chance. 

The  gypsies  held  a horse  fair  in  Granada  to-day.  We 
found  them  in  great  numbers,  from  distant  parts  of  the 
country.  It  was  a new  scene  and  phase  of  life.  Gypsies 
are  seen  in  England,  in  America,  in  Germany,  in  Italy, 
indeed  there  is  hardly  a country  unvexed  by  gypsies. 
Wandering  over  the  world,  having  no  continuing  city  or 
abiding  place,  like  the  frogs  of  the  land  from  which  they 
get  their  name,  they  find  their  way  into  king’s  houses  and 
everybody’s  house,  — lying?  cheating,  stealing,  peddling, 
and  meddling,  a nuisance  and  a curse.  But  the  gypsies  of 
Spain  are  a race  by  themselves,  and  not  the  ancestors  nor 
the  children  of  the  gypsies  of  the  other  lands  I have  named. 
They  have  indeed  a language  with  many  words  in  common, 
and  their  habits  are  similar  all  the  world  over,  but  these 
gypsies  of  Spain  are  a race  by  themselves.  Where  they 
came  from,  and  who  they  are,  it  is  hard  to  say.  They  are 
usually  spoken  of  as  from  Egypt,  and  being  once  called 
Egyptians,  then  gyptians,  — the  name  easily  runs  into 
gypsies  in  the  English  tongue.  But  they  are  called  gitanos 
in  Spanish,  and  the  race  has  no  relations  with  the  wander- 
ing tribes  or  families  that  roam  throughout  Europe  and  the 
Western  World. 

They  are,  as  a people,  — at  least  they  seemed  to  me,  — 
larger  and  stouter  than  the  Spanish ; and  by  no  means  so 
well-favored.  Dark  complexions,  black  eyes,  long  straight 
black  hair,  high  cheek-bones,  and  short  noses,  they  re- 
semble North  American  Indians  more  than  any  European 
race.  They  are  not  cleanly  in  their  persons,  nor  their 
dwellings  ; their  roaming  habits  lead  them  to  eat  and  sleep 
anywhere,  with  their  dogs  and  donkeys ; they  dwell  in 


158 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


caves  if  no  better  houses  are  at  their  command,  and  the 
hill  behind  the  city,  which  we  see  from  the  towers  of  the 
Alhambra,  is  pierced  with  holes  that  lead  into  the  chambers 
where  they  make  their  homes.  They  have  also  one  quarter 
of  the  town  where  they  have  dwellings,  but  the  walls  of  a 
city  are  not  agreeable  to  the  freedom  of  their  wills,  and  they 
prefer  the  hills  and  the  country. 

They  have  no  moral  principle.  There  is  but  one  virtue 
known  among  them,  and  that  is  so  rare  in  Spain,  and  so 
remarkable  among  such  a people,  that  it  must  be  set  down 
to  their  credit  at  the  very  start.  The  women  are  chaste, 
and  that  to  a degree  that  perhaps  no  other  people  in  the 
world  can  claim.  It  is  the  one  feature  of  their  character 
that  redeems  them  from  the  curse  of  utter  and  hopeless 
vagabondism,  and,  standing  out  as  it  does  like  an  ivory 
tower  in  the  midst  of  a waste  of  moral  ruin,  its  beauty  is 
the  more  lovely  and  its  existence  the  more  wonderful.  I 
cannot  say  what  I would  of  the  care  with  which  mothers 
guard  their  daughters  from  contamination  with  their  own 
race  and  the  outside  world  ; and  I cannot  add  another  word 
in  their  praise.  They  live  by  fraud.  Known  to  the  world 
as  swindlers  and  liars  and  thieves,  they  are  nevertheless 
tolerated,  and  perhaps  because  feared ; their  ill-will  being 
dreaded,  and  their  friendship  supposed  to  be  conciliated  by 
complying  with  their  demands. 

They  get  power  over  people  in  the  same  way  that  spirit - 
ualists  do : by  appealing  to  that  latent  superstition  which 
lurks  in  almost  every  human  bosom,  and  is  much  stronger 
in  some  than  others,  and  is  often  strongest  in  those  who 
would  be  the  least  suspected  of  such  a weakness.  Thus 
the  women  of  this  gypsy  race  are  fortune-tellers.  The 
young  women  of  Spain^  like  the  young  women  of  every 
country  that  I have  seen,  have  some  curiosity  and  credulity, 
upon  which  a shrewd  impostor  will  easily  play  and  extort 
money  as  the  reward  of  her  trickery.  To  these  young 


GRANADA. 


159 


women  lovers  are  promised,  and  when  the  pride  or  the  pas- 
sion of  the  young  is  tickled  with  the  promise,  the  prophet 
is  not  very  sharply  questioned  or  judged.  One  very  common 
trick  performed  by  the  gypsy  women  in  Spain  has  been 
reproduced  in  our  country  and  in  England  again  and  again, 
and  will  be  repeated  as  long  as  rogues  can  find  fools  to  be 
duped.  As  love  is  the  ruling  passion  of  the  young,  avarice 
is  of  older  people,  and  to  make  a heap  of  money  out  of  a 
handful  is  the  great  desire  of  the  soul.  The  gypsy  woman 
promises  a lady  to  teach  her  how  to  make  a trunkful  of 
gold  out  of  a few  hundred  dollars.  The  lady  is  to  take  all 
her  gold,  and  to  get  as  much  as  she  can,  and  tie  it  up  in  a 
white  handkerchief  in  the  presence  of  the  gypsy,  then  to 
keep  it  carefully  by  her  side,  night  and  day,  for  three  days, 
then  the  gypsy  is  to  return  and  they  are  to  deposit  it  in  a 
trunk  over  which  the  gypsy  is  to  say  her  form  of  words,  and 
then  the  trunk  is  to  be  carefully  locked  and  guarded  for 
three  weeks,  and  when  opened  is  to  be  found  filled  with 
gold.  The  gypsy,  returning  after  three  days’  absence,  comes 
with  a bundle  of  rubbish  tied  up  in  a white  handkerchief 
concealed  under  her  mantle,  and  easily  substitutes  it  for  the 
one  which  the  lady  has  watched  for  three  days,  and  after 
the  other  is  well  locked  up  she  disappears,  to  be  heard  of 
no  more  in  that  quarter.  A trick  so  stupid  and  silly  one 
would  hardly  believe  could  be  practised  once  ; but  it  is 
played  every  year,  upon  many  victims,  in  all  countries. 
Last  summer  a spiritualist  woman  in  Paris  assured  a gen- 
tleman that  large  treasures  were  buried  in  the  grounds  about 
his  house,  and  he  spent  thousands  and  thousands  in  tearing 
up  his  place  to  find  it.  The  woman  got  the  most  of  the 
money  spent,  and  he  is  hunting  yet.  But  these  gypsies  are 
not  mere  fortune-tellers,  they  are  traders  and  tinkers  ; they 
deal  in  horse-flesh  particularly,  and  are  a striking  illustration 
of  the  curious  fact  that  trading  horses,  buying  and  selling 
horses,  all  the  world  over,  has  some  affinities  with  trickery. 


i6o 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Why  it  is,  perhaps,  the  attention  of  psychologists  has  not 
been  sufficiently  long  directed  to  the  subject  to  say;  but 
gypsies  and  jockeys  are  usually  reckoned  as  belonging  to 
the  same  class,  and  nobody  is  expected  to  trust  either. 

Bensaken  went  with  us  among  these  strange  people,  and 
as  he  understood  their  language,  he  made  our  visit  among 
them  exceedingly  entertaining,  and  the  facts  that  we 
gathered  from  him  and  them  of  their  haunts  and  habits 
are  perhaps  as  reliable  as  those  which  Borrow  and  others 
have  furnished.  I could  not  learn  that  they  have  any 
religious  system.  They  believe  in  one  God,  but  they  have 
more  to  do  with  the  devil,  whether  they  believe  in  him  or 
not.  They  have  no  faith  in  anybody.  Why  should  they, 
or  rather  how  could  they  ? Intending  to  keep  faith  with 
nobody,  and  living  only  to  deceive,  they  cannot  be  expected 
to  believe.  If  they  are  not  lineal  descendants  of  Ishmael, 
they  are  like  the  Arabs,  a nomadic  race,  and  their  hands 
are  against  every  man,  and  every  man’s  against  them. 

I fell  to  musing  over  the  change  that  three  or  four  hun- 
dred years  had  made  in  the  state  of  things  on  this  famous 
spot.  For  we  are  within  the  grounds  of  the  Alhambra. 
And  the  time  was  when  the  splendor  of  Oriental  courts 
was  shining  here  in  its  brightest  array,  and  the  luxury  of 
kings  and  queens  was  spread  about  these  seats  that  are 
now  the  scene  of  this  low  revelry  and  mirth.  The  vanity  of 
earth  is  impressed  upon  me  by  this  miserable  show.  The 
fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away.  And,  indeed,  the  les- 
son of  the  Alhambra  is  the  strangest,  saddest  lesson  that 
ruins  teach.  Its  walls,  its  towers,  its  turrets,  its  gates,  in 
their  decay,  as  they  yet  linger  on  the  heights  overlooking 
the  city  and  the  plain,  seem  to  say,  We  are  witnesses  to- 
day that  the  glory  of  kings  is  fleeting  as  the  dew  of  the 
morning : 

“ The  cloud-capped  towers,  the  gorgeous  palaces, 

The  solemn  temples  — n 


GRANADA. 


161 


have  dissolved ; and  the  wreck  behind  is  the  monument  of 
a departed  race,  an  extinct  dynasty,  a better,  wiser,  nobler 
race  by  far  than  that  which  now  inhabits  the  land.  For 
when  the  Moors  went  out  of  Spain,  they  carried  with  them 
arts,  science,  enterprise,  energy,  strength,  and  taste.  They 
left  a people  in  possession  ignorant,  proud,  bigoted,  and 
indolent : a people  that  now,  in  the  midst  of  an  advancing 
age,  is  making  no  advance ; a people  who  carry  earth  in 
baskets  instead  of  wheelbarrows,  and  wood  on  donkeys 
instead  of  using  carts ! 

Two  things  astonished  me  in  Spain : the  one,  that 
the  pictures  in  her  galleries  were  so  great  and  good, 
and  the  other  that  her  cathedrals  so  far  excel  the  rest  of 
European  temples  in  the  grandeur  of  their  architecture. 
Poor  as  Spain  is  now,  we  must  not  forget  that  it  was 
once  the  most  powerful  of  kingdoms,  and  the  mistress 
of  a world  of  its  own.  And  the  arts  and  sciences  once 
flourished  here  as  they  did  in  the  brightest  days  of 
Grecian  and  Roman  glory.  The  paintings  that  are 
gathered  in  Madrid  are  probably  as  valuable  in  the  eyes 
of  the  artistic  world  as  those  of  any  other  gallery ; and 
there  are  half  a dozen  cathedrals  in  Spain  that  are  not 
equalled  by  the  same  number  in  all  the  rest  of  the  Con- 
tinent. One  who  visited  them  will  not  be  apt  to  forget 
the  florid  beauty  of  the  one  at  Burgos,  the  massive 
grandeur  of  that  in  Toledo,  the  thousand  columns  that 
sustain  the  arches  on  which  rests  the  roof  of  the  converted 
mosque  at  Cordova,  or,  the  most  majestic  of  them  all, 
the  vast  and  solemn  pile  that  stands  in  Seville  ; nor  will 
he  readily  lose  the  impressions  made  upon  his  soul  by  the 
cathedral  at  Granada,  into  which  we  are  now  entering,  as 
we  are  about  to  take  leave  of  the  Alhambra,  and  go  to 
the  north  of  Europe. 

It  was  the  design  of  the  founders  of  this  temple  to  make 
it  the  most  splendid  in  the  world  ; and  this  weak  and  un- 


ii 


1 62  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

worthy  ambition  has  doubtless  given  to  us  many  noble 
monuments  of  genius  and  labor  which  a less  exciting 
motive  might  have  failed  to  produce.  We  are  met  with 
a notice,  on  entering,  that  we  are  not  to  converse  during 
service  ; and  it  is  a caution  that  might  well  be  put  up 
in  the  Protestant  as  well  as  Catholic  places  of  worship. 
Five  naves  are  divided  with  massive  pillars  ; the  pavement 
is  marble,  and  very  beautiful  ; the  interior  425  feet  long 
and  250  feet  wide,  with  chapels  on  the  sides,  on  which 
private  wealth  has  been  lavished  with  a profusion  that 
seems  absolutely  incredible  ; one  of  them  was  built  by  an 
archbishop,  whose  wealth  was  so  great  that  he  imitated 
the  royal  manner  of  living,  and  preferred  to  be  like  his 
Master  a king,  rather  than  like  his  Master  a servant. 

Charles  V.  called  upon  the  artists  of  the  world  to  come 
and  embellish  this  house,  and  to  assist  him  in  building  the 
sepulchres  of  his  father  and  mother,  and  the  kings  of 
Spain.  The  chapel  royal  is  the  most  impressive  mauso- 
leum in  the  whole  kingdom  ; for  here,  in  full  view,  are  the 
tombs,  and  upon  them  the  images,  in  marble,  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  and  beneath  these  monuments  repose  the  ashes 
of  those  illustrious  monarchs  whose  names  are  so  indis- 
solubly linked  with  the  history  of  our  own  distant  land. 
By  them  lie  the  relics  also  of  Philip  and  his  wife,  who 
was  called  Crazy  Jane.  There  are  no  more  elaborate 
sepulchral  monuments  than  these.  F'our  statues  of  learned 
divines  and  twelve  apostles  surround  the  royal  tombs,  as 
if  keeping  eternal  guard  over  the  inevitable  dust.  The 
statues  of  the  royal  dead  are  said  to  be  good  likenesses, 
and  I hope  they  are,  for  these  people  had  so  much  care 
and  trouble  in  life,  it  is  certainly  pleasant  to  see  them 
looking  so  quiet  in  their  stone  beds.  Even  Crazy  Jane, 
the  wife  of  Philip,  is  as  calm  and  peaceful,  in  the  effigy 
that  lies  at  our  feet,  as  if  she  never  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  carrying  the  corpse  of  her  husband  about  with  her  from 


GRANADA. 


163 

place  to  place,  refusing  to  have  it  buried,  and  insisting  on 
the  pleasure  of  embracing  it  whenever  she  took  a notion 
for  so  cold  a comfort. 

Isabella,  the  fair  patron  of  Columbus,  desired  to  be 
brought  here  and  buried  ; and  here  she  lies,  one  of  the 
noblest  women  that  ever  sat  upon  a throne : a wonderful 
contrast  with  the  late  Isabella  who  came  from  Madrid  to 
Granada,  a few  years  ago,  descended  into  the  vaults,  and 
caused  mass  to  be  performed  for  the  souls  of  the  departed ; 
which  souls  are  quite  as  well  off  without  any  masses  as 
hers  will  be  with  many.  Her  visit  was  made  here  in  1862, 
and  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  took  possession  of  the  city  in 
1492,  nearly  four  hundred  years  between  the  visits  of  the 
two  Isabellas ; and  there  is  as  great  contrast  between 
the  characters  of  the  two  women  as  there  is  between 
the  condition  of  the  country  under  the  reign  of  the  one 
and  the  other. 

A very  obliging  priest  led  us  from  chapel  to  chapel,  and 
pointed  out  to  us  the  several  distinguishing  marks  of 
antiquity  and  sacredness  that  make  the  cathedral  a joy 
to  the  believer,  and  one  of  the  most  — in  many  respects 
the  most  — sacred  in  Spain.  He  was  not  unmindful  of  a 
trifling  fee  when  we  parted,  and  one  cannot  but  be  amused 
with  the  solemn  gravity  with  which  this  office  of  guide  to 
the  holies  is  performed  by  the  priests,  who  doubtless  have 
the  mixed  motive  of  displaying  the  charms  of  their  sacred 
places,  and  of  getting  the  little  money  that  grateful  travel- 
lers leave  in  their  hands.  It  is  best  to  have  their  services, 
for  they  answer  a hundred  questions  that  without  them 
would  be  unanswered,  and  their  weary  life  seems  to  be 
lightened  by  the  brief  companionship  of  strangers. 

In  the  evening  we  set  off  from  Granada  by  diligence, 
leaving  the  place  in  the  same  style  that  marked  our 
entrance.  A crowd  gathered  at  the  office  to  witness  our 
departure.  A woman  at  the  window  put  down4her  money 


164 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


to  buy  a ticket  to  take  a seat  with  us.  Before  she  had 
received  the  ticket,  a couple  of  officers  of  justice  rushed  in 
and  seized  her.  They  stripped  off  her  bonnet  and  her 
luxurious  head  of  hair  : they  tore  off  her  mantilla,  and, 
shocking  to  relate,  her  loosely-flowing  dress  fell  at  her 
feet,  in  the  midst  of  the  derisive  shouts  of  an  admir- 
ing multitude  ; and,  thus  stripped,  she  remained  a well- 
dressed  man  ! He  had  helped  himself  freely  to  the  money 
in  the  shop  where  he  was  employed,  got  together  all  he 
could  borrow  and  steal  of  others,  and,  in  the  disguise  of  a 
woman,  was  about  to  abscond  to  parts  unknown  ! Probably 
he  was  going  to  that  happy  land . far,  far  away,  which  is 
still  believed  by  them  to  be  the  paradise  of  thieves.  His 
career  was  suddenly  arrested.  The  crowd  followed  hoot- 
ing at  his  heels  as  the  officers  led  him  off  to  prison  ; the 
horn  of  the  postilion  rang  out  its  call  on  the  evening  air, 
the  dozen  horses  and  mules  at  last  consented  to  pull 
together,  and  we  plunged  out  of  Granada. 


GENEVA. 


165 


CHAPTER  XV. 

GENEVA  — FREYBURG  — BERNE. 

TD  Y a very  circuitous  route,  over  which  I will  not  ask 
you  to  follow  me,  I came  to  Switzerland,  on  my  way 
to  the  north  of  Europe. 

When  I was  a boy  of  nine,  I read  in  Caesar’s  Commen- 
taries, “ Extremum  oppidum  Allobrogum,  proximumque 
Helvetiorum  finibus  est  Geneva,”  and  rendered  it  into  Eng- 
lish, “ the  farthest  town  of  the  Allobroges,  and  nearest  to 
the  frontiers  of  the  Helvetii  is  Geneva.”  Out  of  the  lake 
flows  the  river  Rhone,  with  waters  so  blue  that  they  seem 
to  have  been  colored  with  indigo,  and  Sir  Humphrey  Davy, 
who  died  here,  attributed  the  deep  color  to  the  presence  of 
iodine.  The  outlet  of  the  lake  is  crossed  by  several  bridges, 
and  the  city  stands  on  both  sides.  The  old  wall  on  the 
left  bank  was  originally  built  by  the  men  of  Julius  Caesar, 
as  is  attested  by  coins  and  other  remains  of  those  days,  to 
this  day  occasionally  found.  Its  antiquity,  its  remarkable 
history,  its  past  greatness,  and  its  present  beauty,  the  many 
eminent  men  who  have  here  spent  their  lives,  and  more  than 
all  its  situation  on  this  lake,  give  the  city  of  Geneva  an 
attraction  that  no  other  place  in  Switzerland  possesses. 

The  cathedral  here  in  Geneva  is  the  venerable  edifice 
in  which  John  Calvin  and  his  peers  in  the  Reformation 
preached  the  doctrines  that  are  now  working  their  way  into 
the  minds  of  the  entire  Christian  world,  as  the  real  basis 
for  civil  and  religious  liberty  and  progress. 

As  we  entered  it,  we  trode  upon  the  nearly  worn-out  epi- 
taphs in  the  stones  of  the  floor,  to  the  memory  of  Roman 


GENEVA  AND  THE  RHONE. 


GENEVA. 


167 


Catholic  dignitaries  who  ruled  here  before  the  Reformation, 
for  the  edifice  is  more  than  five  hundred  years  old.  A 
chapel  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  no  longer  needed  for  her  wor- 
ship, holds  the  tomb  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Rohan, 


1638,  and  in  another  part  of  the  church  is  the  monument 
to  the  memory  of  Agrippa  d’Aubigny. 

In  the  old  library,  just  behind  the  cathedral,  are  many 
interesting  manuscripts  of  Calvin,  forty-four  volumes  of  his 


1 68  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

sermons,  twelve  of  letters  written  to  him,  his  own  letter  to 
Lady  Jane  Grey  while  she  was  a prisoner  in  the  Tower  of 
London,  and  394  other  letters  by  his  own  hand.  Besides 
these,  there  is  nothing  more  than  the  severe  simplicity  and 
solidity  of  the  edifice,  with  its  remarkable  history  and  asso- 
ciations, to  make  it  interesting. 

It  appears  like  a slow  old  town.  But  the  names  of  good 
great  men,  and  great  bad  men,  are  so  identified  with  Geneva, 
that  it  is  never  spoken  of  without  being  associated  with 
their  works  and  influence.  Calvin  came  here  three  hundred 
years  ago  and  more,  — the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of 
his  death  was  commemorated  a few  years  ago,  — Rousseau 
was  born  here,  Voltaire  and  Madame  de  Stael  and  Lord 
Byron  have  resided  here ; and  a long  list  could  easily  be 
made  longer,  of  illustrious  men,  some  of  them  flying  from 
religious  persecution,  some  from  the  reach  of  the  sword  of 
justice,  some  hiding  from  themselves,  for  it  has  been,  and 
still  is,  an  asylum  for  all,  of  every  name,  faith,  and  aim, 
who  would  be  free  to  think  and  speak,  while  they  yield 
wholesome  obedience  to  the  laws.  I was  quite  surprised 
to-day  when  the  excellent  United  States  consul  at  this  place 
showed  me  in  one  of  the  infidel  Rousseau’s  works  a note  in 
which  that  brilliant  writer  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of 
John  Calvin,  not  only  as  a theologian,  but  a statesman  whose 
views,  he  says,  will  be  always  held  in  reverence. 

At  the  foot  of  the  lake,  and  near  the  city,  are  many  beau- 
tiful villas,  with  the  water  in  front  of  them,  the  Jura  moun- 
tains on  the  north  to  be  seen  by  those  on  one  side,  and  the 
mountains  of  Savoy  on  the  south-east  in  full  view  from  the 
other.  Mont  Blanc  towers  above  them,  44  the  monarch  of 
mountains,”  his  white  head  and  shoulders  seen  above  the 
dark  ranges  in  front  of  him,  like  the  bare  form  of  a giant 
among  the  hills.  Rev.  Dr.  Merle  d’Aubigne,  the  historian 
of  the  Reformation,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  other  eminent 
men,  have  had  their  residences  on  the  south-east  side,  and 


GENEVA. 


169 

Baron  Rothschild  has  a splendid  palace  on  the  opposite 
shore.  Voltaire’s  house,  and  the  residence  of  the  Empress 
Josephine,  are  also  there.  The  shores,  as  we  go  up  the  lake, 
are  covered  with  vineyards,  and  every  village  that  we  pass 


D’Aubigne’s  Birthplace  and  Residence. 


is  marked  with  some  features  of  historical  interest.  Madame 
de  Stael  formerly  resided  at  Coppet,  a little  village  where  is 
a Roman  tombstone  with  this  inscription,  “ Vixi  ut  vivis : 
morieris  ut  sum  mortuus : sic  vita  traditur,  vale  viator  et 
abi  in  rem  tuam.”  Ninon  is  an  old  town  that  boasts  of 
Julius  Caesar  as  its  founder,  and  under  its  castle  are  those 
gloomy  dungeons  which  are  the  terrible  witnesses  of  the 
cruel  customs  of  past  ages.  On  the  left  shore  as  we  ad- 
vance we  notice  a village  on  the  extremity  of  a cape,  which 
is  called  St.  Protais  ; this  saint  was  the  Bishop  of  Avenches, 
the  Roman  Aventicum,  who  died  in  530,  and  was  buried 
here,  tradition  says,  because  “ his  body  did  not  seem  inclined 
to  go  any  further.”  And  in  1400,  nearly  a thousand  years 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


170 

after  his  burial,  it  was  proposed  to  remove  him  to  Lausanne, 
but  he  showed  such  signs  of  repugnance,  that  it  was  deemed 
improper  to  disturb  him  any  more.  Near  this  was  once  a 
town  named  Lisus,  which  was  destroyed  in  563  by  a sudden 
rise  of  the  lake  occasioned  by  the  fall  into  its  waters  of  an 
entire  mountain  on  the  Savoy  side.  It  was  an  important 
place,  as  the  remains  of  vases,  statuary,  and  mosaics  attest 
to  this  day.  As  we  reach  the  town  of  Morges  the  scenery 
of  the  lake  has  opened  upon  us  with  grandeur  and  beauty 
which  is  impossible  to  describe.  The  snow-clad  summits 
of  the  Grand  Muveran,  the  rocks  of  the  Diablerets,  and  the 
tapering  jagged  peaks  that  are  appropriately  called  teeth, 
and  have  their  several  names,  which  one  is  scarcely  expected 
to  remember,  now  rise  in  full  view,  and  the  excitement  of 
the  voyage  is  fairly  begun.  Away  in  the  distance  is  Mont 
Combin,  one  of  the  stupendous  Mont  Rosa  group,  and  there 
are  the  mountains  of  Abondance  and  the  cragged  peaks  of 
Meillerie,  while  in  the  background,  overlooking  all,  glows 
and  blazes  in  the  splendors  of  this  summer  sun  the  ever- 
lasting snow-crown  of  Mont  Blanc. 

That  square  tower  in  Morges  is  the  old  donjon  of  Wuf- 
flens.  It  rises  170  feet,  and  towers  above  a group  of  turrets, 
all  of  brick.  It  was  built  in  the  tenth  century  by  Bertha, 
whose  memory  is  so  sacred,  the  good  queen  of  the  Burgun- 
dians, who  visited  every  part  of  her  kingdom  on  horseback 
once  a year,  with  a distaff  in  her  hand,  to  set  her  subjects 
an  example  of  industry. 

The  most  picturesque  in  its  situation,  and  the  most 
famous  city  on  the  lake,  except  Geneva,  is  Lausanne , the 
capital  of  the  canton  of  Vaud,  built  on  three  hills,  along 
the  slope  of  the  Jorat,  and  dating  back  to  the  year  563. 
And  then,  oh  wonderful  to  relate ! it  became  in  580  the  see 
of  a bishop,  the  prelate  Marius  bringing  hither  the  relics  of 
St.  Anne,  from  whom  the  town  is  named,  Laus  Anna,  and 
a part  of  the  true  cross,  and  some  of  the  Virgin  Mary’s 


GENEVA. 


171 

hair,  and,  more  than  all,  a rat , — a veritable  rat,  which  had 
devoured  some  of  the  bread  after  it  was  consecrated,  and  was 
thus  converted  into  the  body  of  our  Lord  ! These  valuable 
possessions  drew  immense  numbers  of  pilgrims,  and  raised 


the  celebrity  of  the  place,  which  afterwards  had  a remark- 
able history,  civil  and  religious.  Its  cathedral  was  conse- 
crated by  the  Pope  himself.  In  1479  the  whole  region  was 
overrun  with  a species  of  beetles  like  locusts,  devouring 
every  green  thing.  The  invaders  were  excommunicated  by 
the  bishop,  but  the  sentence  had  no  effect ! Farel  and 
Viret  and  Calvin,  with  other  reformers,  were  here  in  con- 
vention in  1536.  Here  Gibbon  finished  his  work,  “ The 
Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,”  and  the  principal 
hotel  bears  his  name,  while  the  house  he  lived  in  and  the 


172 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


terrace  where  he  often  walked,  are  pointed  out  as  objects  of 
interest  to  travellers.  We  rode  through  the  quaint  old 
place,  and  then  continued  our  journey. 

But  if  we  pause  even  to  mention  the  places  on  the 
northern  shore  of  the  lake,  and  allude  to  the  events  that 
have  made  them  classic,  we  shall  not  get  over  the  ground 
or  the  water  to-day.  We  have  now  reached  the  upper 
section  of  the  lake,  and  the  mountains  round  about  it  have 
been  rising  in  sublimity  and  beauty  as  we  advance.  The 
water  is  a thousand  feet  deep.  On  the  right  hand  the 
mountains  rise  precipitously  from  the  water's  edge,  and 
on  the  left  vineyards  cover  the  sloping  hills:  sometimes 
walls  sixty  and  eighty  feet  high  have  been  built  to  support 
the  soil,  and  on  the  terraces  so  formed  luxurious  vines  are 
flourishing,  and  in  the  days  of  the  old  Romans  a temple  to 
Bacchus,  the  god  of  wine,  was  standing  here,  the  ruins 
remaining  to  this  day.  The  view  from  Vevey  is  regarded 
by  many  as  the  most  delightful  on  the  lake,  and  the  situa- 
tion of  the  town  is  so  picturesque  and  healthful,  so  cool  in 
summer  and  so  warm  in  winter,  that  it  is  sought  for  as  a 
residence  by  strangers  all  the  year  round,  and  in  this 
strangely  ordered  region,  in  sight  of  everlasting  snows,  the 
pomegranate  and  the  rose-laurel  and  myrtle  blossom  in  the 
open  air,  as  in  the  south  of  France.  And  now  we  come  to 
the  upper  end  of  the  lake,  and  such  an  amphitheatre  of 
mountains,  rocks,  and  hills,  sure  no  other  lake  in  the  wide 
world  presents.  The-sun  was  low  in  the  west  as  we  ap- 
proached this  eastern  end,  and  a flood  of  golden  light  was 
poured  in  upon  the  bosom  of  the  waters,  and  covered  the 
stupendous  battlements  on  either  side  with  a living  glory. 

Close  down  on  the  edge  of  the  lake  is  the  old  Castle  of 
Chillon,  more  than  six  hundred  years  of  age,  where  the 
Dukes  of  Savoy  ruled  with  terrible  power.  Down  into  its 
dungeons  we  were  led,  to  one  where  on  a flat  rock  the 
condemned  prisoners  spent  the  last  nights  of  their  lives ; 


GENEVA. 


173 


to  another  where,  on  a cross-beam  still  here,  they  were 
hung  ; to  the  stone  column,  one  of  the  supports  of  the 
castle,  where  for  seven  long  years  the  Prior  of  St.  Victor, 
Francis  Bonnivard,  for  his  heroic  defence  of  the  liberty  of 


Castle  of  Chillon. 

Geneva,  was  chained  to  a ring  yet  remaining  in  the  pillar, 
the  chain  passing  around  his  body,  and  allowing  him  space 
only  to  walk  around  it,  year  after  year,  or  to  lie  down  and 
sleep  by  its  side.  In  this  dungeon  many  of  the  reformers 
were  imprisoned. 

In  an  upper  room  we  found  the  chamber  of  torture,  in 
which  was  a wooden  column,  to  which  prisoners  were  put 
to  the  question , chained,  and  tormented  with  fire,  or  drawn 
and  stretched  with  rings  and  pulleys  ; and  in  another  room 
a trap-door  is  open,  and  a spiral  stone  staircase  leads  down- 
ward, — the  prisoner,  unconscious  of  what  was  before  him, 
steps  down  three  steps  into  the  darkness,  and  the  fourth  is 
eighty  feet  below,  where  he  is  dashed  to  pieces  on  the 


174 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


* rocks.  Yet  in  this  castle,  and  near  to  these  horrid  places, 
are  the  bed-chambers  and  parlors  and  dining-rooms  of 
dukes  and  duchesses,  men  and  women  like  ourselves,  who 
could  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry  under  the  same  roof  with  all 
this  cruelty  and  misery. 

And  this  is  at  the  head  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva.  Within 
ten  minutes’  walk  is  the  Hotel  Byron,  one  of  the  best 
places  to  stop  at  in  all  Europe.  It  is  in  the  centre  of  a semi- 
circular sweep  of  beetling  crags,  and  snow-peaked  moun- 
tains, and  wine-growing  hill-sides  ; it  looks  away  down  the 
lake,  and  not  another  house,  not  a sound  disturbs  its  deep 
tranquillity,  while  nature,  history,  poetry,  and  art  invite  us 
to  repose. 

Leaving  Chillon  in  the  morning  by  rail  gave  us  a new 
idea  of  the  way  that  Switzerland  is  now  explored  by  tour- 
ists. When  I was  here,  a dozen  years  ago,  it  was  to  be 
seen  only  by  footing  it  through  the  passes,  or  riding  on 
horseback,  with  now  and  then  a lift  in  the  diligence , or 
antiquated  stage-coach.  Now  railroads  have  been  made  to 
connect  so  many  of  the  principal  places  and  points  of  inter- 
est, that  only  the  younger  and  more  vigorous  of  travellers 
strike  out  into  the  mountain  fastnesses,  and  toil  over  the 
hills  where  as  yet  no  roads  have  been  made.  I inquired  of 
the  porter  this  morning  how  to  get  across  from  Martigny 
to  the  Vale  of  Chamouny.  “You  takes  von  leetel  hoss,” 
he  said,  from  which  I knew  that  the  ponies  still  do  the 
work  through  that  finest  of  all  the  day’s  rides  in  Switzer- 
land. There  are  hundreds  of  interesting  tours  yet  to  be 
made  where  no  rail  or  coach  will  ever  intrude,  and  no  other 
locomotive,  unless  Professor  Andrews  makes  his  air-ship  a 
success  : in  which  case  it  would  be  admirably  adapted  to 
travel  in  this  country.  One  of  the  last  places  in  the  world 
I should  have  thought  practicable  for  a railroad  is  the  border 
of  this  lake,  and  yet  here  it  is  entering  the  valley  where  the 
Rhone  empties,  and  so  extending  to  Martigny  and  to  Sion. 


THE  LAKE  AND  CITY  OF  GENEVA. 


176 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Penetrating-  secluded  regions  where  frost  has  been  king 
since  the  world  began,  the  rail  has  made  even  the  ever- 
lasting glaciers,  these  frozen  cataracts,  articles  of  merchan- 
dise. As  the  quarries  in  the  mountains  are  worked  by  the  art 
and  spirit  of  man,  so  the  icebergs  that  here  grow  from  age  to 
age,  and  scarcely  seem  to  melt  at  all,  are  cut  into  blocks, 
and  transported  by  the  rail  to  Paris.  The  glacier  of  the 
Grindelwald  is  drank  in  brandy  punches  at  the  Grand  Hotel 
and  the  Louvre.  To  get  the  ice,  these  mighty  frozen  seas 
are  excavated  in  galleries  and  chambers,  and  magnificent 
saloons.  The  depths  of  snow  on  the  surface  exclude  the 
sunbeams,  but  calcium  lights  shed  a brilliant  lustre,  reflected 
as  from  a thousand  mirrors  of  glass,  and  in  small  apart- 
ments fitted  up  for  the  purpose,  the  furniture  of  a well 
appointed  parlor,  sofas,  chairs,  and  cushions,  invite  to  cold 
but  not  inhospitable  repose.  When  the  Mer  de  Glace  is 
taken  by  rail  down  into  Italy,  and  thence  by  ship  to  the 
East  Indies,  ice  will  be  reasonably  cheap  in  Calcutta.  And 
this  will  be  more  readily  done  than  to  tow  an  iceberg  from 
’ the  North  Pole. 

As  I said,  we  left  Chillon  in  the  morning,  and  retraced 
our  course  a part  of  the  way  by  the  railroad  which  passes 
on  the  hill-sides,  away  above  the  lake,  through  luxuriant 
vineyards,  and  over  stupendous  gorges,  spanned  by  stone 
bridges,  and  arrived  before  noon  at  Lausanne.  Here  we 
struck  out  into  the  interior  of  Switzerland.  And  I was  at 
once  impressed  with  the  great  progress,  even  in  this  sta- 
tionary country,  made  in  the  last  thirteen  years.  Then  we 
traversed  this  wild  and  wonderful  country  mainly  over 
paths  that  no  wheel  had  ever  marked,  and  sometimes  by 
ways  that  only  the  footstep  of  the  most  cautious  traveller 
might  tread.  Now,  we  take  the  coupi,  or  front  compart- 
ment of  an  elegantly  fitted  up  rail-car.  It  has  seats  for 
four  persons  only,  with  rests  for  the  head  and  the  feet,  and 
a table  before  you,  and  windows  in  front  and  sides,  so  that 


FREYBURG. 


177 


you  can  see  all  that  is  around  you,  or  write  of  what  you 
see  and  feel.  Before  us  are  the  peaks  of  untrodden  hills, 
all  covered  deep  in  perpetual  snows,  the  pink  color  on  the 
white  like  the  hues  of  roses,  as  the  sun  shines  on  but 
never  melts  them;  here,  on  the  right,  I see  the  lake  that 
yesterday  we  sailed  through  from  end  to  end  ; now  it  is 
smooth  as  a silver  sea,  and  as  beautiful ; reflecting  majestic 
mountains,  and  cities  and  villages  where  wealth  and  art 
and  letters  and  taste  have  for  ages  delighted  to  dwell. 
And  on  the  other  hand,  and  sometimes  on  both  sides  of 
us,  we  see  Swiss  valleys  teeming  with  a busy,  peaceful, 
happy  people,  whose  homes  suggest  to  me  the  thought 
of  contentment,  and  therefore  happiness.  The  old  city  of 
Romont  we  pass  below,  as  it  stands  on  a hill  with  an 
ancient  wall  and  towers  surrounding  it ; good  enough  in 
those  old  times  when  bows  and  spears  and  stones  were 
the  weapons  of  war,  but  of  no  account  in  these  times  of 
Columbiads  and  Paixhan  guns.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  on 
which  it  stands,  the  fields  are  laid  off  with  walks  and 
garnished  with  groves,  showing  that  the  people  of  these 
regions  delight  in  those  enjoyments  that  indicate  culture 
and  taste. 

The  city  of  Freyburg,  where  we  passed  the  night,  is 
remarkable  as  being  the  seat  of  the  chief  power  of  Ro- 
manism in  Switzerland.  It  has  as  many  as  ten  convents 
and  monasteries  and  high  seminaries  of  learning.  The 
suspension  bridge  is  said  to  be  the  longest  in  the  world, 
nine  hundred  feet  : it  is  not  so  beautiful  as  the  one  at 
Niagara,  but  may  be  longer. 

The  organ  of  Freyburg  has  been  long  celebrated  as  one 
of  the  best  instruments  in  the  world,  and  there  is  proba- 
bly but  one  superior  to  it.  Yet  the  performances  upon  it 
are  so  unequal,  varying  with  the  skill  or  the  humor  of  the 
organist,  that  very  different  reports  are  made  of  it  by  par- 
ties hearing  it  at  different  times.  Perhaps  it  was  my  good 


12 


i7» 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


fortune  to  hear  it  under  circumstances  the  most  favorable, 
Certainly  the  music  was  the  most  effective  of  any  that  I 
have  ever  heard,  more  so  than  any  I expect  to  hear  till  the 
“ nobler,  sweeter  strains  ” of  the  divine  melodies  break  on 
the  spirit’s  ear  among  the  harmonies  of  heaven. 

The  cathedral  dates  back  to  1285.  Over  the  front 
entrance  is  a queer  old  bas-relief,  representing  the  last 
judgment.  The  Father,  God  himself,  done  in  stone,  sits 
aloft,  with  angels  blowing  trumpets  around  him.  At  his 
feet,  on  the  right,  the  righteous  are  led  off  in  triumph  to 
their  places  in  glory,  and  on  the  left  a devil  is  weighing 
souls  in  a pair  of  scales  ; another  devil,  with  the  head  of 
a pig,  is  carrying  a lot  of  poor  sinners  in  a basket  on  his 
back,  and  is  about  to  cast  them  into  a great  kettle  where 
others  are  boiling,  while  little  imps  are  blowing  the  fires 
with  bellows,  and  hell  itself,  represented  by  the  jaws  of  a 
monster,  yawns  near,  and  Satan  sits  on  his  throne  above. 
We  studied  this  strange  device  until  the  evening  shades 
were  too  dense  to  permit  us  to  see  it,  and  then  entered 
the  portals.  Darkness  and  silence  reigned  within.  Two 
candles  on  the  columns  near  the  altar  gave  all  the  “dim 
religious  light,”  that  only  served  to  deepen  the  gloomy 
grandeur  of  the  venerable  pile.  A few  persons  had  al- 
ready been  admitted,  and  were  conversing  in  whispers, 
invisible  and  scarcely  audible  in  the  distance.  We  sat  as 
far  away  from  the  organ  as  we  could,  and  where  it  was 
probable  it  could  be  heard  to  the  best  advantage.  As  the 
hour  approached  (it  is  played  from  half-past  eight  to  half- 
past nine  every  evening),  the  strangers,  who  pause  here 
on  their  travels,  entered  in  little  groups,  and  then  a large 
crowd  of  gentlemen,  who,  as  I learned  the  next  day,  were 
the  teachers,  professors,  and  other  literary  men  of  Switzer- 
land, came  in  together,  filling  every  available  place.  They 
were  in  Freyburg  in  convention,  and  by  invitation  were 
now  present  to  enjoy  the  musical  feast.  It  may  be  that 


FREYBURG. 


1/9 


owing  to  this  unusual  attendance  of  the  learned  and  cul- 
tivated men  of  the  country,  we  had  the  highest  possible 
development  of  the  powers  of  the  instrument  and  the 
abilty  of  the  organist. 

Something  in  the  circumstances  doubtless  added  to  the 
dramatic  effect  of  the  exhibition.  The  cathedral  seemed 
to  be  full  of  people,  but  a few  only  could  be  seen,  and  a 
sense  of  solemnity,  devotion,  awe,  began  to  steal  upon  me 
as  I sat  waiting  for  the  first  notes  of  the  organ,  which  was 
lighted  only  by  a single  candle,  and  that  unseen,  so  that 
the  instrument  seemed  away  among  the  stars.  Some  of 
its  pipes  are  thirty-two  feet  long.  They  are  7,800  in  num- 
ber, with  sixty-four  stops.  As  I looked  up  expectant,  I 
thought,  “ Oh,  if  it  had  only  a soul ! ” And  then,  just 
then,  a breath  of  melody,  so  soft,  so  sweet,  so  soul-like, 
came  along  on  the  still  air,  it  might  have  been  the  first 
notes  of  the  advent  song  of  peace  that  fell  like  this  by 
night  over  Bethlehem.  This  gentle  stream  of  music  rose 
and  swelled  into  a river  of  melody  that  soon  burst  its 
banks  and  became  a rushing  torrent  of  sound,  mighty  in 
its  power,  almost  awful  in  its  expression.  This  was  but 
the  prelude.  Then  came,  in  successive  anthems,  songs 
and  passages  of  master-pieces  of  the  great  composers  ; 
some  of  them  familiar,  all  of  them  exquisite  in  their  ef- 
fect, to  illustrate  the  wondrous  faculties  of  this  uninspired, 
untenanted  mechanism,  that  was  yet  able  to  represent  with 
such  fidelity  the  deep  and  lofty,  the  softest  and  strongest 
•emotions  of  the  soul. 

Now,  the  imitation  of  the  human  voice  was  so  perfect, 
it  required  an  effort  of  the  mind  to  believe  that  a living 
being  was  not  rendering  those  plaintive  strains  in  some  dis- 
tant chamber  of  this  vast  hall ; and  now,  the  ring  of  bells 
broke  musically  on  the  ear,  and  the  far-away  toll  of  some 
solemn  church-bell  added  its  voice  to  the  harmony.  The 
Alpine  horn,  the  flute,  and  other  instruments  were  so  dis- 


i8o 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


tinctly  given,  it  was  hard  to  comprehend  the  truth  that,  in 
the  midst  of  one  grand  performance,  on  a single  instru- 
ment, so  many  and  so  distinct  and  perfect  imitations  of 
others  could  be  introduced.  Perhaps  nothing  was  more 
beautiful  than  the  tinkling  of  water  dropping  into  a foun- 
tain ; yet,  when  one  effect  had  been  enjoyed,  as  if  the 
most  complete,  another  soon  succeeded,  so  delicate  and 
so  touching,  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  last  were  more  lovely 
than  all  which  had  been  heard  before. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  speak  of  the  closing  perform- 
ance without  being  suspected,  by  those  who  have  not 
heard  it,  of  exaggeration.  And,  indeed,  so  differently  are 
we  constituted,  that  some  will  be  charmed  with  a picture 
or  statue,  ravished  with  eloquence  of  oratory  or  music, 
and  delighted  with  a landscape  or  waterfall,  while  others 
exposed  to  the  same  influences  are  as  unmoved  as  the 
marble  or  the  instrument.  I know  that  I am  not  one  of 
them,  thanks  to  him  who  made  us  to  differ ; and  I know, 
too,  that  they  who  sat  near  me,  when  the  last  grand  move- 
ment of  this  organ  was  made,  are  not  of  them.  For  when 
the  strong  wind  began  to  shake  the  walls  of  the  old  cathe- 
dral, the  rain  to  pour  in  torrents  on  the  roof,  the  thunder 
rolling  in  terrific  majesty, 

“ Which,  as  the  footsteps  of  the  dreadful  God, 

Marching  upon  the  storm  in  vengeance  seemed,” 

we  bowed  our  heads,  with  such  a sense  of  awe  and  adora- 
tion, as  could  scarcely  have  been  increased  if  the  war  of 
elements  had  indeed  been  bursting  on  us,  and  the  voice  of 
the  Almighty  had  suddenly  filled  his  temple. 

I will  not  describe  the  effect  of  this  music : how  it 
soothed,  subdued,  and  melted  the  heart  when  its  tenderest 
utterances  fell  like  balm  on  a wounded  spirit ; how  it  carried 
me  away  to  other  days,  and  far-away  lands,  and  lifted  me 
again  to  thoughts  of  heaven  and  the  harmonies  of  the 


BERNE. 


Si 


saints  ; and  so  pure,  so  holy  were  the  strains  and  the  asso- 
ciations they  brought  with  them,  I wept  that  I had  ever 
lived  but  in  the  hallowed  atmosphere  of  the  Good,  the  Un- 
seen, and  Infinite ! Nor  was  this  a transient  sentiment, 
fading  when  the  hour  of  such  strange  teaching  was  ended, 
and  the  gothic  temple  ceased  to  tremble  with  these  majestic 
tones.  It  has  followed  me  for  days  and  nights  among  these 
stupendous  mountain  fastnesses,  over  ice-clad  plains,  where 
44  motionless  torrents,  silent  cataracts,”  proclaim  the  power 
of  him  who  44  clothes  them  with  rainbows,”  only  less  lustrous 
than  the  one  around  his  throne.  I hear  the  voice  of  God 
everywhere,  in  this  sublime  and  awful  land.  But  if  these 
silent  works  of  his  are  eloquent  to  speak  his  praise,  how 
much  ‘more  is  such  a voice  as  that  organ,  the  great  achieve- 
ment of  a mind  and  hand  that  God  made,  endowed,  and 
guided  in  their  work. 

I have  thought  in  years  past  that  words  are  not  essential 
to  a train  of  thought : we  think  in  words,  always  and  only 
in  words.  But  now  I know  that  we  need  no  words  to  make 
us  feel,  and  words  are  not  made  that  are  capable  of  express- 
ing what  we  feel.  As  we  sat  in  silence  beneath  the 
majestic  harmonies  of  this  surpassing  instrument,  even  so 
it  were  better  that  I had  made  no  attempt  to  portray  with 
pen  what  is  not  in  the  compass  of  words  to  utter.  It  is  to 
be  heard  and  felt  and  enjoyed. 

Just  beyond  Freyburg,  as  we  go  to  Berne,  is  the  battle- 
field of  Morat,  which  battle  was  fought  four  hundred  years 
ago,  but  is  famous  to  this  day  : for  the  bones  of  the  slain  were 
gathered  into  a heap,  and  some  of  them  are  still  to  be  seen. 
It  was  formerly  the  custom  for  every  Burgundian  who 
passed  to  carry  a bone  home  with  him  to  bury  in  his  own 
country,  and  Lord  Byron  said  that  he  took  away  enough  to 
make  a quarter  of  a man.  But  they  are  mostly  gone  now, 
and  an  obelisk  is  set  up  to  mark  the  field. 

By  stopping  over  from  one  train  to  another  you  will  see 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN, 


Cathedral  and  Platform  at  Berne. 

gen,  slew  a bear  long  time  ago.  So  the  people  keep  three  or 
four  of  them  in  a stone  pit,  at  the  public  expense,  for  the 
idle  and  youthful  to  look  at  and  feed  and  see  them  climb 
a tree.  It  is  amusing  to  see  a city  worshipping  bears. 


all  that  is  worth  seeing  in  the  quaint  old  city  of  Berjie , — the 
German  for  Bear,  — the  city  of  Bears,  so  called  because  it  is 
built  on  the  spot  where  its  founder,  Berchthold,  of  Zahrin- 


BERNE. 


183 

Therefore  go  to  see  the  bears,  when  you  go  to  Berne.  Do 
not  fall  over  the  parapet,  for  if  you  do,  the  bears  will  tear 
you  to  bits,  as  they  did  an  unfortunate  Englishman  on  the 
3d  of  March,  1861.  If  you  happen  to  be  at  the  old  clock  tower 
when  it  is  striking  the  hour,  you  will  see  a curious  proces- 
sion, which  presents  a very  striking  appearance ; and,  indeed, 
every  fountain  and  statue  and  mountain  is  deformed  with 
ugly  bears,  till  you  cannot  bear  to  see  them.  You  will  be 
quite  willing  to  leave  the  city  after  walking  through  its 
principal  streets,  where  the  second  story  of  the  houses  pro- 
jects over  the  sidewalks,  making  a covered  promenade,  and 
the  shops  are  half-way  in  the  street,  and  the  market-women 
sit  all  along  the  way  with  their  baskets  of  vegetables,  and 
the  chicken  vendors  are  ready  to  cut  off  the  heads  of  the 
fowls  over  a drain  that  carries  off  the  blood,  and  so  forth. 

Besides  the  hotels,  the  only  notable  edifice  is  the  Federal 
Palace,  a new  and  truly  beautiful  building.  Here  the 
National  Diet,  or  Congress  of  Switzerland,  meets  annually 
in  July.  There  are  twenty-two  cantons,  or  states,  in  the 
Swiss  Confederation,  and  they  are  severally  independent, 
but  unite  in  this  council  for  purposes  of  mutual  protection 
and  support.  Each  canton  has  a dialect,  or  patois,  peculiar 
to  itself,  and  sometimes  unintelligible  to  its  neighbors  ; and 
the  French,  the  German,  and  the  Italian  languages  are  so 
generally  spoken  in  distinct  cantons,  that  they  are  obliged 
to  have  an  interpreter  in  Congress  to  redeliver  a speech,  or 
restate  an  argument  in  two  other  languages  after  a member 
has  made  it  first  in  the  only  one  that  he  understands. 
What  a blessed  thing  it  is  that  our  congressmen  under- 
stand, at  least,  each  other’s  language,  for  if  their  speeches 
had  to  be  repeated  three  times,  when  would  the  assembly 
ever  break  up  ? 

The  grandest  sight  in  Berne  is  the  range  of  Bernese 
Alps,  and  a grander  spectacle,  perhaps,  the  country  itself 
cannot  present.  When  that  long,  white,  rifted,  mountain- 


I84  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

boundary  of  the  world  stands  up  in  its  majesty,  lighted  as 
we  saw  it  by  a blazing  noonday  sun,  it  is  sublime  as  well 
as  beautiful. 

It  is  only  an  hour  by  rail  to  Thun,  and  then  we  are  on  a 
lovely  little  lake  ten  miles  long,  with  lofty  mountains  on 
each  side  of  it ; *so  lovely  indeed  is  this  lake,  that  days  after 


On  the  Lake  of  Thun. 

we  had  left  it,  when  other  views  were  spoken  of,  Thun 
always  had  its  admiring  advocates,  who  claimed  for  it  the 
pre-eminence  in  beauty  over  all  that  we  had  seen.  And 
so  in  this  land  of  glorious  natural  scenery,  where  every 
valley  is  a subject  for  a picture,  every  mountain  a study, 
and  every  lake  a gem,  it  is  easy  to  exhaust  the  words  of 


BERNE. 


135- 

admiration,  and  then  fail  to  convey  any  adequate  idea  of 
the  constant  succession  of  splendors  that  greet  the  travel- 
ler’s never-wearied  eye. 

Writing  these  last  words,  I look  up,  and  before  me  is  the 
Jungfrau,  clothed  in  white  raiment  from  crown  to  foot. 
The  sky  kisses  her  cold  brow.  As  the  mountains  are  round 
about  Jerusalem,  so  are  the  everlasting  hills  about  her  now 
and  ever.  But  no  words  can  give  to  you,  beyond  the  sea, 
the  faintest  conception  of  what  one  feels  who  exposes  his 
soul  to  these  visions  of  grandeur  and  beauty,  and  rejoices 
as  he  thinks  “ My  Father  made  them  all.” 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


1 86 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  BRUNIG  PASS  — LUCERNE. 

TF  it  were  required  of  me  to  name  the  pleasantest  day’s 
■*"  ride  thus  far  of  this  summer’s  tour  in  Switzerland,  I 
should  give  the  palm  for  beauty  to  the  day  that  took  me 
with  two  friends  from  Interlaken  to  Lucerne  by  way  of 
Brienz  and  the  Brunig  Pass. 

Interlaken,  as  its  name  implies,  is  between  the  lakes 
Thun  and  Brienz.  Thun  is  a beautiful  gem  of  a sea  ; Brienz 
is  a little  smaller,  but  fortified  by  formidable  mountains  and 
scarcely  less  lovely  than  her  sister  Thun.  Our  carriage- 
road,  after  leading  us  out  from  Interlaken,  — that  great 
English  boarding  establishment  with  a road  running  through 
it,  and  interesting  only  as  a flat  valley  in  sight  of  the  Jung- 
frau, and  so  full  of  people  all  summer  long  that  you  can 
find  no  sense  of  quiet  or  retirement,  though  the  hotels  are 
good,  and  the  rides  pleasant,  and  the  mountain  scenery 
sublime,  — our  road  led  us  along  on  the  western  shore  of 
Lake  Brienz,  and  is  cut  into  the  hill-side  so  far  up  that  all 
the  way  along  we  were  able  to  survey  the  whole  lake.  I 
looked  back  to  the  Abendberg , a mountain  which  I once 
climbed  to  visit  the  Institution  for  the  Relief  of  Cretins,  the 
idiots  of  Switzerland,  which  Dr.  Guggenbulre  established 
there.  That  remarkable  philanthropist  and  physician,  in 
whom  and  his  labors  I became  intensely  interested  when 
here  before,  has  since  that  time  been  removed  by  death, 
and  no  one  being  found  to  carry  on  his  benevolent  and 
self-denying  work,  it  was  suspended,  and  the  building  is 
now  a hotel. 


THE  BRUNIG  PASS. 


18/ 


On  the  east  side  of  the  lake  some  of  the  finest  mountains 
in  the  country  are  to  be  seen,  and  the  flat  summit  of  the 
Faulhorn  is  even  more  inviting  than  the  Rigi,  which  now  is 
visited  by  scarcely  more  tourists.  Cascades  are  leaping 
frequently  from  lofty  heights  into  the  abyss  below,  and  we 
have  scarcely  exclaimed  at  the  beauty  of  one  before  another 
rushes  into  sight.  By  and  by  we  come  to  one  more  impos- 
ing than  all  the  rest ; at  first  we  catch  but  a single  fall ; as 
we  advance  it  takes  another  plunge,  and  then  another,  and 
soon  the  whole  reach  and  all  the  leaps  of  the  Giesback  are 
roaring  and  tumbling  down  the  lofty  precipices  before  us. 
I had  been  under  it  and  around  it,  at  its  base,  but  had  not 
before  stood,  as  now,  where  its  successive  falls  are  all 
blended  into  one,  and  the  white  crystal  flood  pours  more 
than  a thousand  feet,  through  the  green  fir-tree  borders, 
into  the  lake.  If  you  have  a night  to  spare,  when  you  come 
here,  you  may  cross  from  Brienz  and  spend  it  at  the  Falls, 
which  are  illuminated  with  Bengal  lights,  producing  a spec- 
tacle of  enchanting  and  bewildering  magnificence  and 
beauty.  But  if  you  have  not  time,  get  some  one  who  has 
just  been  there,  and  who  knows  that  you  have  not  been,  to 
tell  you  about  it,  and  you  will  get  an  idea  from  his  descrip- 
tion that  will  quite  surpass  the  original  ! 

After  passing  the  little  village  of  Brienz,  — where  the 
English-speaking  landlord  of  the  Bear  (Ours)  will  enter- 
tain you  well  if  you  give  him  a call,  — we  soon  began  the 
ascent  of  the  Brunig  mountain.  It  gives  you  at  once  some 
conception  of  the  immense  expenditure  of  money,  time,  and 
science  of  engineering  required  to  construct  these  Swiss 
roads.  As  smooth  as  those  of  Central  Park,  and  as  solid, 
they  are  made  to  wind  around  and  about  so  as  to  render  the 
ascent  gradual.  Sometimes  we  seem  to  be  returning  on 
our  track,  but  always  singing  Excelsior , and  yet  so  gradu- 
ally that  the  strain  is  not  severe  on  the  horses,  and  you  feel 
no  sense  of  danger  as  you  are  borne  along  without  jolting 


1 88 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


or  fatigue.  And  what  a lovely  vale  is  every  moment  in 
view  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain ! A rapid  river  sweeps 
through  it,  and  by  its  side  a white,  smooth  road : sweet 
Swiss  homes  in  the  midst  of  green  farms  dot  the-  valley, 
that  may  well  be  the  pride  of  the  whole  land.  Now  we  are 
looking  down  into  the  Vale  of  Meyringen..  For  two  or 
three  hours  we  have  seen  in  the  distance  a splendid  cascade, 
and  now  that  we  have  approached  it,  we  find  it  the  lower 
leap  of  the  celebrated  Reichenbach  Falls,  and  into  the  valley 
so  many  are  pouring  constantly,  that  you  are  not  surprised 
to  learn  the  inhabitants  have  often  suffered  sadly  from  the 
swelling  of  these  mountain  torrents,  which  come  down  so 
rapidly  and  fearfully  as  to  bear  away  every  thing  before 
them.  A hundred  years  ago,  almost  the  whole  village  of 
Meyringen  was  buried  twenty  feet  deep  in  the  sand  and 
rocks  and  rubbish.  A mark  on  one  of  the  principal  build- 
ings shows  the  height  to  which  the  waters  rose  in  that 
memorable  deluge.  And  as  we  are  wound  along  up  the 
Brunig,  we  enter  the  clouds  and  find  the  rain  descending, 
so  that  we  are  obliged  to  shut  the  carriage  up  till  we  pass 
through  the  cloud,  and  emerge  as  we  come  down  into  a 
sunnier  region.  At  the  foot,  the  village  of  Lungern  offers 
us  dinner,  and  we  rest.  One  of  my  friends  had  been  suffer- 
ing all  day  with  toothache,  and  had  at  last  reached  the 
reckless  determination  to  have  it  out,  if  a dentist,  or  even  a 
blacksmith,  could  be  found  in  the  place.  I admired  his 
courage  more  than  his  discretion,  but  probably  had  only  a 
feeble  sense  of  his  suffering.  The  village  doctor  was  sum- 
moned, a fine-looking,  self-reliant,  intelligent  young  man. 
The  landlord  stood  with  solemn  face  at  the  door  of  the 
room  where  the  dread  operation  was  to  be  performed.  The 
landlady  wrung  her  hands  in  sympathy.  The  head  waiter 
held  the  sufferer  s head.  I held  my  peace.  In  a moment 
it  was  done  ! And  then  the  charge,  it  was  one  franc ! 
twenty  cents ! ! Think  of  that,  ye  man  tormentors,  who, 


THE  BRUNIG  PASS.  1 89 

with  forceps  dire,  tear  a tooth  by  the  roots  from  one’s 
bleeding  jaw  and  charge  him  two  dollars,  or  five ! 

Lungern,  where  now  lies  the  bone  of  one  of  my  country- 
men, stands  by  a lake  of  the  same  name,  which  was  once 
much  larger  than  it  is  now.  But  the  people,  more  in  need 
of  land  than, water,  at  the  cost  of  §25,000  dug  a tunnel 
under  a hill  that  held  the  lake,  put  1000  pounds  of  gun- 
powder at  the  end  of  the  hole  and  touched  it  off.  Away  it 
went,  and  away  went  the  lake,  and  the  village  itself  was 
nearly  whelmed  too.  Down  went  the  lake  120  feet, 
leaving  several  hundred  acres  of  ground  which  is  now 
tilled.  But  not  enough  to  pay  for  the  work.  God  has 
given  the  seas  and  the  lakes  their  bounds,  and  man  is  a 
poor  tinker  when  he  tries  to  blow  the  world  up  and  make 
it  over.  I sympathize  with  the  poet  who  rejoices  that  the 
sun  and  moon  are  swung  out  of  reach, 

“ Lest  some  reforming  ass 

Should  take  them  down  and  light  the  world  with  gas.” 

The  whole  region  beyond  is  historic,  and  the  quaint 
villages  we  pass  through  have  their  several  stories  of 
battles,  sieges,  and  victories.  Every  step  of  the  way  pre- 
sents a new  picture  of  loveliness  or  sublimity.  At  last  we 
are  brought  into  sight  and  now  are  riding  along  the  base  of 
Mount  Pilatus,  his  head  as  usual  crowned  with  clouds  and 
storm.  The  tradition  is,  — and  you  must  believe  in  all  the 
traditions  of  this  country,  or  you  lose  half  the  interest  of 
travel  in  it : even  the  life  and  exploits  of  William  Tell  are 
traditional  rather  than  historic,  yet  who  that  lives  here*  or 
travels  here  thinks  William  Tell  a myth  ? If  he  does,  he 
had  better  not  tell  anybody  he  doesn’t  believe  in  Tell,  — the 
tradition  is  that  Pontius  Pilate,  after  condemning  the  Saviour, 
wandered  over  the  world  with  a conscience  goading  him  to 
death ; that  finally  he  committed  suicide  on  the  top  of  this 
mountain,  which  is  almost  always,  in  consequence  of  this 


90 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


awful  event,  begirt  with  tempests.  And  the  popular  belief 
that  these  storms  were  of  infernal  origin  was  so  prevalent, 
that  for  a long  time  it  was  forbidden  by  lav/  to  make  the 
ascent.  But  the  mountain  is  the  first  great  barrier  the 
clouds  meet  as  they  are  marching  southerly  into  the  Alpine 
regions.  There  they  break,  and  around  the  peak  of  Mount 
Pilate  the  thunder  and  lightning  play  with  vengeance, 
when  elsewhere  it  is  “ clear  shining  after  the  rain.”  The 
carriage-path  is  now  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Lucerne  and 


Pilatus,  Lake  of  Lucerne. 

at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  — ahead  of  us  it  seems  as 
though  we  were  coming  to  the  sudden  terminus  of  travel, 
but  the  narrow  way  opens  as  we  advance,  and  we  sweep 
securely  under  a frowning  precipice,  and  over  a solid  rock 
for  the  bed  of  the  road,  and  having  made  the  circuit  of  the 
mountain  we  emerge  upon  a plain  which  lies  between  us 
and  Lucerne. 

The  sun  was  just  sinking  to  rest  as  we  were  bringing  to 


LUCERNE. 


I9I 

a close  our  journey  of  ten  hours,  memorable  for  the  pictur- 
esque views  that  were  constantly  before  us,  the  four  lakes 
that  we  had  skirted  in  our  ride,  the  uncounted  waterfalls, 
majestic  mountains,  alternate  rain  and  sunshine,  and  that 
pleasant  friendly  converse  which  an  easy-going  carriage 
permits  and  encourages,  when,  with  tastes  to  enjoy  the 
beautiful  world  that  God  has  made,  we  sit  all  day  under  the 
open  sky  and  admire,  wonder,  and  adore. 

Lucerne  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  Switzer- 
land. We  have  often  laughed  at  the  guide-books  for  call- 
ing each  and  every  place,  castle,  river,  waterfall,  temple,  or 
tower,  the  most  beautiful,  the  oldest,  largest,  most  romantic, 
or  something  quite  as  superlative.  But  we  get  into  the 
same  habit,  and  readers  must  make  allowances  for  the 
enthusiasm  of  travellers.  Take  off  as  much  as  you  please, 
and  Lucerne  is  very  lovely. 

It  was  my  first  Sabbath,  on  this  journey,  in  a place 
almost  wholly  given  up  to  Romanism.  The  population  is 
about  13,000,  and  less  than  a thousand  are  Protestants.  At 
nine  o’clock  in  the  morning,  with  two  American  friends,  I 
went  to  the  cathedral  or  church  of  St.  Leger,  and  found  it 
already  crowded  and  a sermon  in  progress.  The  preacher 
was  arrayed  with  so  much  magnificence  that  I supposed 
he  must  be  some  very  distinguished  personage  in  the 
church  of  Rome.  The  Papal  Nuncio,  or  representative  of 
the  Pope  of  Rome,  has  his  official  residence  in  Lucerne, 
but  I presume  he  does  not  officiate  as  a preacher.  The 
audience  filling  the  seats  and  thronging  the  aisles  were 
giving  devout  attention,  each  one  on  entering  bending  his 
knee  and  crossing  himself.  The  women  occupied  one 
half,  and  the  men  the  other,  of  the  house.  I could  find  no 
seat,  but  a young  man  in  a pew  rose,  gave  me  his  seat,  and 
stood  up  himself,  a politeness  not  common  in  any  Protes- 
tant church  in  any  part  of  the  world  to  which  my  weary 
steps  have  been  directed.  The  preaching  was  in  German, 


192 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


and  more  unintelligible  to  me  than  if  it  had  been  in  Greek 
or  Latin,  so  that  I was  at  liberty  to  study  the  surroundings. 
Over  the  altar  was  a statue  of  Christ  crucified : the  body 
made  of  wood  painted  to  the  life,  and  life-size,  suspended 
so  low  that  the  face,  with  all  its  expression  of  intense 
agony,  was  perfectly  visible.  The  blood  had  settled  all 
below  the  knees  and  the  lower  part  of  the  chest,  and  was 
trickling  from  the  spikes  through  the  hands  and  feet.  The 
altar  was  richly  adorned  with  gold,  and  candles  were  burn- 
ing on  it.  On  either  side  of  it  were  minor  altars ; over  one 
of  them  was  an  inscription  in  Latin  recording  the  sacred 
relics  there  treasured.  These  are  to  be  found  in  all  the 
great  churches  on  the  continent,  but  have  lost  none  of  their 
hold  on  the  reverence  of  these  superstitious  people.  The 
toe-nail  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  would  be  the  fortune  of 
any  relic-hunter  who  should  light  upon  it.  Over  another 
altar,  called  Privileged , but  why  I did  not  learn,  was  a rep- 
resentation, in  full  life-size,  of  the  descent  from  the  cross. 
The  weeping  women  had  very  sorrowful  faces,  and  the 
wound  in  the  Saviour’s  side  was  gaping  fearfully,  and  the 
blood  still  oozing  out.  As  I was  looking  at  it,  a lady 
elegantly  dressed,  leading  two  children,  four  or  five  years 
old,  entered  a side  door,  and  approaching  this  altar  knelt 
before  it,  and  turning  her  face  upward  to  these  images  of 
the  Saviour’s  death,  gazed  long,  and  I suppose  was  praying. 
The  sermon  was  still  in  progress,  but  she  gave  no  heed  to 
it.  Perhaps,  like  myself,  she  was  not  able  to  understand  it, 
and  had  come  to  worship,  not  to  hear.  When  she  had 
closed  her  protracted  devotions,  she  took  the  little  boy  and 
girl  and  made  them  both  kneel,  where  she  had  been  kneel- 
ing, and  look  up  as  she  had  done,  and  when  they  had  thus 
performed  the  service  which  she  evidently  prescribed,  she 
led  them  out.  Others  cast  themselves  down  before  this 
and  other  altars,  and  with  no  attention  to  the  service  in 
progress,  went  on  with  their  own  prayers,  and  then  left,  or 


LUCERNE. 


193 


joined  with  the  rest  according  to  their  pleasure.  When  the 
sermon  was  ended,  long,  and  well  delivered,  in  a persuasive, 
conversational  tone,  without  notes,  and  with  an  evident  air 
of  earnest  feeling,  another  priest,  in  gorgeous  apparel,  came 
to  the  high  altar,  and,  attended  by  two  or  three  boys  to  hold 
up  his  robes  and  move  his  missal-book  from  place  to  place, 
as  he  had  to  change  his  position,  he  proceeded  to  celebrate 
the  mass.  The  officiating  priest  was  an  elderly  man  whose 
face  indicated  great  intellectual  force,  and  his  appearance 
was  that  of  a student  and  man  of  learning.  As  he  took  a 
golden  chalice  and  laid  his  hands  over  it,  and  prayed,  and 
then  lifted  it  up  while  all  the  people  bowed  themselves  with 
profound  reverence,  it  filled  me  with  amazement  that  such  a 
man  as  he  seemed  to  be  could  suppose  that  the  wine  in  that 
cup  had  been  miraculously  and  instantly  converted  into  the 
blood  of  the  Son  of  God  ! ! ! And  when  he  held  up  in  the 
same  way  a bit  of  bread  in  the  shape  of  a wafer  or  thin 
cracker,  two  inches  or  so  in  diameter,  and  again  all  the 
people  bent  themselves  in  adoration,  he  himself,  with  up- 
lifted hands  and  downcast  eyes  and  moving  lips,  appeared 
to  regard  the  ceremony  as  an  immediate  exhibition  of  a 
present  and  new-born  God.  Then  he  took  the  cup  again 
and  drank  it,  and  drank  once  more,  turning  it  bottom 
upward  over  his  face ; and  when  this  was  done  he  took  a 
white  napkin  and  dried  the  inside  thoroughly,  as  if  no  drop 
of  the  sacred  blood  must  remain  within,  and  the  door  of  a 
golden  casket  or  closet  on  the  altar  being  opened,  he  placed 
it  within,  with  the  bread  he  had  converted,  and  locked  it 
safely  there.  While  this  ceremony  was  going  on,  a priest 
had  emerged  from  behind  the  altar,  and  with  a brush  in 
hand  went  up  and  down  among  the  people,  sprinkling  them 
with  holy  water.  A splendid  organ  and  a choir  of  singers 
took  part  in  the  service,  which  was  in  all  its  parts  imposing 
to  the  senses,  fitted  to  make  a deep  impression  on  the 
ignorant  masses. 


13 


194 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  cloisters  that  surround  the  church  are  filled  with 
tombs  and  memorial  paintings  and  inscriptions,  and  the 
windows  on  the  south  command  charming  views  of  the 
lake  and  mountains. 

From  this  service,  which  was  rather  to  be  called  inter- 
esting than  edifying,  we  went  to  the  English  church  ser- 
vice. The  Protestant  Germans  have  a new  and  very 
pretty  edifice,  which  they  permit  the  English-speaking 
residents  and  travellers  to  enjoy  for  two  services  on  the 
Sabbath.  The  sermon  we  heard  was  on  the  nature  and 
blessed  effects  of  prayer.  It  was  evangelical  and  useful, 
some  passages  very  touching  and  impressive.  The  prayers 
were  read  by  a young  American  clergyman,  and  the  audi- 
ence, which  was  quite  large,  filling  the  church,  was  proba- 
bly one-half  American. 

I have  never  found  a more  romantic,  more  sublime,  more 
classic  and  beautiful  lake  in  the  little  part  of  the  world  I 
have  seen,  than  the  Vier-Wald-Statter  See,  the  Fcur  For- 
rest Cantons,  or,  as  it  is  more  often  called,  Lake  Lucerne. 

You  will  come  to  Lucerne,  to  the  Schweitzer  Hof,  the 
best  hotel  in  Switzerland.  From  the  wharf  in  front  of  it 
steamers  go  five  times  a day  the  whole  length  of  the  lake 
and  return,  making  the  excursion  in  five  hours. 

It  is  the  lake  of  William  Tell.  Unbelieving  sceptics  in- 
timate a doubt  that  such  a man  as  Tell  ever  lived  ; but  the 
apothecary  in  whose  house  I am  lodging  now  has  his  scales 
in  the  form  of  a cross-bow,  with  a gilt  apple  on  the  top, 
to  represent  the  great  exploit  of  the  hero’s  life,  and  every 
house  has  its  memento  of  the  man  without  whom  there  is 
no  Swiss  history.  You  might  as  well  tell  me  that  George 
Washington  is  a myth,  and  that  he  never  hacked  his 
father’s  cherry-tree  with  a hatchet.  I have  a piece  of  the 
tree,  and  know  it  to  be  true.  And  every  Swiss  patriot 
knows  that  William  Tell  shot  the  apple  off  his  son’s  head, 
and  the  monster  cruelty  of  the  order  that  made  him  do  it 


LUCERNE. 


195 


roused  the  fires  of  indignant  resistance  to  tyranny,  and 
resulted  in  the  independence  of  the  country.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  believe  this,  to  enjoy  the  scenes  made  sacred  by 
the  story. 

You  will  leave  the  city  of  Lucerne,  having  seen  the  lion 
cut  in  a solid  rock  as  a monument  to  some  Swiss  soldiers 


Monument  to  the  Swiss  Guard.  {By  Thorvaldsen .) 

who  were  killed  in  Paris  fighting-for  pay  in  1792,  and  hav- 
ing also  walked  through  the  covered  bridge  that  is  distin- 
guished, but  not  adorned,  with  a series  of  paintings  by 
Holbein,  representing  the  Dance  of  Death  ; and  after  the 
boat  has  gone  from  the  landing  about  fifteen  minutes,  you 
must  look  back  on  the  crescent  city  rising  from  the  water’s 
edge,  flanked  by  the  ancient  wall  on  which  the  useless 
towers  still  stand  ; and  on  the  spires  of  the  cathedral  whose 
organ  claims  equal  honor  with  that  of  Freyburg;  and  the 
old  tower  in  the  centre  of  the  river  which  was  once  a light- 


I96  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

house,  Lucerna,  whence  the  name  of  the  town ; and  on  the 
green  hills,  behind  and  on  either  side  of  the  city,  elegant 
residences  of  opulent  citizens,  and  of  some  who  from  Paris 
and  more  distant  parts  come  here  to  enjoy  the  summer  in 
a delicious  and  healthful  clime.  Naples  is  grander,  but 
hardly  more  beautiful,  as  she  lies  around  her  lovely  bay, 
with  Vesuvius,  like  the  Rigi,  keeping  watch  over  her 
Italian  charms. 

For  an  hour  or  two  out  we  are  in  the  midst  of  the  same 
bold  and  striking  scenery  which  is  common  to  all  the  Swiss 
lakes,  with  nothing  of  special  interest  except  the  historic 
associations  that  cluster  about  the  little  villages  at  the  foot 
of  the  hills  on  the  shores.  We  would  be  slow  to  believe 
that  a population  even  of  a few  hundreds  could  hold  on 
upon  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  or  find  the  means  of  sup- 
port among  those  green  meadows,  where  lies  the  little 
village  of  Gersau,  and  there  are  only  about  1,500  people  in 
it.  Yet  so  tenacious  are  these  Swiss  of  independence,  that 
this  little,  secluded,  poor,  portionless  community,  not  more 
than  two  miles  square,  maintained  its  existence  as  a sep- 
arate state  for  more  than  four  centuries,  and  was  then 
swallowed  up  by  the  French  in  the  devouring  fires  of  1789. 
It  is  now  part  of  one  of  the  Swiss  cantons.  We  cross  the 
lake  again  and  come  to  Brunnen,  where  the  figures  of  the 
three  historic  patriots  of  Switzerland  stand  with  each  a 
hand  held  up  to  heaven,  on  the  outside  of  the  Sustenhaus, 
on  the  bank  of  the  water.  But  when  we  leave  Brunnen, 
and  through  a narrow  pass  enter  the  Bay  of  Uri,  the  gran- 
deur of  the  view  breaks  instantly  upon  us  with  such  a 
power  as  to  set  at  defiance  the  attempt  at  description  unless 
one  has  a bolder  pen  than  mine.  Philosophers  have  tried 
it.  Poets  have  done  what  they  could  to  illustrate  and  repeat 
it.  So  prudent,  and  yet  so  capable  a writer  as  Sir  James 
Mackintosh  says  it  makes  “ an  impression  which  it  would 
be  foolish  to  attempt  to  convey  by  words.”  I will  there- 


LUCERNE. 


197 


fore  not  be  foolish.  Yet  you  may  look  with  my  eyes  upon 
precipitous  mountains  starting  from  the  bosom  of  the  lake 
and  pointing  with  silent  and  solemn  majesty  into  the  sky: 
here  and  there  as  we  pass  are  verdant  meadows,  few  and 
far  between,  but  beautiful  as  they  nestle  at  the  feet  or  on 
the  breasts  of  these  gigantic  cliffs,  not  a human  habitation, 
sometimes  for  miles,  to  be  seen,  but  all  still,  serene,  and 
impressive  in  its  solitude,  and  awful  in  its  manifestation  of 
the  stupendous  works  of  God. 

A sharp  rock  rises  perpendicularly  from  the  water  on  the 
western  shore,  and  some  foolish  people  have  put  a gilt  let- 
ter inscription  on  it : as  if  the  words  were  of  use  to  perpet- 
uate the  histories  of  these  shores.  We  come  to  a low 
pasture,  a narrow  ledge,  the  most  hallowed  spot  in  Switzer- 
land, for  here  the  three  great  patriots  whose  portraits  we 
saw  at  Brunnen,  — Furst,  Stauffacher,  and  Melchthal, — 
were  wont  to  meet  to  concert  their  plans.  And  here  at 
midnight,  Nov.  7,  1307,  they,  with  thirty  trusty  men  whom 
they  had  chosen,  took  the  oath  that  bound  them  in  a sol- 
emn league  to  break  the  hated  yoke  of  Austria,  or  die. 
They  fought  and  conquered,  and  they  perished  too,  but 
their  names  and  deeds  live,  in  revolving  centuries,  and  pil- 
grims from  lands  that  were  then  unknown  now  come  and 
look  with  reverence  upon  the  spot  thus  consecrated,  for  the 
lands  of  Tell  and  of  Washington  are  lands  of  liberty,  and 
the  sons  of  each  are  brothers. 

And  across  the  See,  a few  miles  on,  is  the  chapel  of  Wil- 
liam Tell.  It  marks  the  spot  where  the  hero  jumped  from 
the  boat  to  the  rock  and  bounded  away  into  the  woods, 
when  the  tyrant  Gessler  was  carrying  him  to  prison.  A 
storm  had  overtaken  them : the  tyrant,  a coward  of  course, 
was  afraid,  and,  as  Tell  was  an  expert  in  the  boat,  he  ordered 
him  to  be  unbound,  that  he  might  manage  the  little  bark. 
Tell  steered  her  close  to  the  rock,  and  leaped  ashore,  and 
was  gone.  A little  chapel,  open  cn  the  lake  front,  is  erected 


19S 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Adown  the  sides  of  these  majestic  mountains  frequent 
cascades  leap  and  hang  and  play,  and  not  far  from  the 
chapel  two  fountains  spring  directly  out  of  the  mountain 
side  and  pour  two  copious  streams  into  the  lake  below. 
They  are  said  to  flow  from  a lake  in  the  valley  on  the  other 
side  of  the  mountain  ; but  whether  this  is  true  or  not,  it  is 
an  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  the  veins  of  water  run 


here,  preserved  with  pious  care,  adorned  with  art  and  taste, 
and  once  a year  a long  procession  of  Swiss,  in  boats,  ap- 
proach the  sacred  place  and  listen  to  a discourse  in  honor 
of  their  sainted  hero. 


Tell’s  Chapel,  Lake  of  Lucerne. 


LUCERNE. 


199 


along  beneath  the  earth,  rising  even  on  the  sides  and  sum- 
mits of  the  hills,  and  springing  to  the  surface  when  reached 
by  art,  or,  as  in  this  case,  discharging  by  a natural  outlet. 
The  earth  has  its  mysteries  yet  unsolved.  Some  of  these 
bare  mountain  rocks  are  laid  in  convoluted  strata,  a few  feet 
• only  in  thickness,  but  wrapped  over  and  over,  as  if  they 
were  a heap  of  great  sheets  once,  easily  thrown  into  these 
forms.  It  is  easy  to  say  that  they  are  of  volcanic  origin, 
and  that  these  hills  were  once  flowing  down  in  presence  of 
the  Lord.  But  this  explains  nothing.  The  philosopher  is 
no  wiser  than  the  poet.  And  neither  sees  any  farther  into 
the  bowels  of  these  mountains  than  the  Christian  pilgrim 
who  sits  with  me  on  the  boat,  and,  as  he  sees  the  water 
gushing  out  of  the  rock  as  if  smitten  by  the  rod  of  Moses, 
he  says : “ Who  hath  divided  a watercourse  for  the  over- 
flowing of  the  waters  ? Out  of  whose  bosom  came  the  ice  ? 
There  is  a path  which  no  fowl  knoweth,  and  which  the  vul- 
ture’s eye  hath  not  seen.”  And  this  is  the  way  the  waters 
go,  through  chambers  cut  in  the  rocks  by  Infinite  skill,  that 
they  may  flow  just  where  they  are  wanted  to  bless  or  beau- 
tify the  world. 

Reaching  the  end  of  the  lake  at  Fluellen,  we  enter  at 
once  upon  the  highway  over  the  St.  Gothard  into  Italy. 
Two  miles  on  is  Altorf,  where  William  Tell  shot  the  apple 
on  the  head  of  his  son.  And  still  farther  on  is  the  place 
where  he  finally  lost  his  life,  drowned  while  seeking  to  save 
the  life  of  a child.  The  road  beyond  is  one  of  the  grandest 
and  most  historic  of  the  Swiss  passes,  but  I am  not  going 
that  way  now,  as  Capt.  Lott  said.  What  did  he  say  ? Why, 
this,  — a passenger  asked  him  why  the  ship  was  going  so 
slow : the  captain  told  him  the  fog  was  too  thick  to  make 
much  headway.  “But,”  said  the  passenger  looking  up, 
“it’s  clear  enough  overhead.”  “Yes,”  replied  the  Captain, 
“ but  we’re  not  going  that  way  just  now.” 


200 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  BLACK  VIRGIN  OF  EINSIEDELN  — LIFE  IN  SWITZER- 
LAND, &c. 

1\ /T ORE  than  a thousand  years  ago,  a holy  hermit,  by  the 
name  of  Meinrad,  of  royal  blood,  sought  the  wilds  of 
Finsterswald,  and  here  (for  I am  now  on  the  spot)  lived 
in  a hut,  and  spent  his  days  in  prayer,  with  a little  black 
image  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  which  had  been  given  him  by 
the  Abbess  of  Zurich.  But  his  piety  and  the  Holy  Virgin 
did  not  shield  him  from  the  violence  of  wicked  men.  He 
was  murdered  in  his  hut  by  two  robbers,  who  would  never 
have  been  caught  but  for  the  interposition  of  the  Virgin, 
who  sent  two  ravens  after  them.  These  birds  followed 
them  to  Zurich,  and  there  hunted  them  till  their  guilt  was 
detected,  and  they  were  put  to  death. 

The  odor  of  Meinrad’s  sanctity  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
the  Benedictine  monks  came  and  established  a community, 
built  a monastery  and  a church,  and  have  flourished  on  this 
spot  ever  since.  So  long  ago  as  948  the  Bishop  of  Con- 
stance came  here  to  consecrate  the  newly  erected  church, 
and  in  the  night  before  the  ceremony  was  to  be  performed 
he  was  awakened  by  the  music  of  angels  filling  the  place, 
and  a voice  from  heaven  came  to  him,  saying  that  he  need 
not  proceed  with  his  holy  services,  for  in  the  night  the 
house  had  been  sanctified  by  the  coming  of  the  Saviour 
in  his  own  proper  person.  This  was  reported  to  the  Pope, 
who  pronounced  it  a genuine  miracle  ; and  in  obedience  to 
his  decree  a plenary  indulgence  is  granted  to  all  pilgrims 
who  come  here,  and  on  the  church  is  inscribed,  “ Here  is 


BLACK  VIRGIN  OF  EINSIEDELN. 


201 


full  remission  from  the  guilt  and  punishment  of  sins.” 
During  all  these  thousand  years  that  have  since  revolved, 
this  spot  has  been  the  shrine  to  which  not  less  than  200,000 
human  beings  each  year,  with  heads  and  hands  and  feet 
like  other  people,  have  journeyed,  to  bring  their  offerings, 
and  worship  a black  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary  holding  a 
black  baby  in  her  arms.  Why  the  image  is  painted  jet 
black  I cannot  learn.  So  great  is  the  concourse  of  pil- 
grims here,  and  so  large  are  their  offerings,  that  this  monas- 
tery, in  a bleak  Alpine  vale,  3000  feet  above  the  sea,  and 
off  from  all  highways,  has  become  one  of  the  richest  in  the 
world.  One  in  Styria,  one  in  Spain,  and  a third  in  Italy, 
are,  perhaps,  more  numerously  visited.  But  the  annual 
revenue  of  this  is  immense.  The  abbot  has  his  banking 
house  in  Zurich,  where  he  deposits  the  funds,  and  the  in- 
vestments are  constantly  increasing.  They  are  buying 
lands  largely  in  the  United  States  of  America,  especially  in 
Indiana,  and  the  order  of  Benedictines  at  Vincennes  is  in 
constant  correspondence  with  Einsiedeln. 

Hither  have  I just  made  a pilgrimage,  not  on  foot,  as 
many  do.  An  old  woman  of  seventy-five,  carrying  her 
shoes  in  her  hand  and  toiling  up  with  bare,  sore  feet,  said 
the  priest  had  bade  her  travel  so  to  Einsiedeln,  and  her 
sins  would  be  pardoned.  But  I came  by  the  steamboat 
from  Zurich  to  Ricksterwyl,  and  was  then  brought  up  the 
hill  in  a nice  covered  carriage,  a much  pleasanter  way  of 
doing  a pilgrimage  than  walking  barefoot,  or  even  with 
peas  in  your  shoes.  It  is  a two  hours’  ride  from  the  lake, 
the  ascending  road  being  alive  with  travellers  going  and 
coming,  and  public-houses  to  entertain  the  pilgrims  invite 
you  to  rest.  The  village  itself  consists  of  a multitude  of 
taverns  and  shops  for  the  sale  of  images,  crosses,  medals, 
&c.  Passing  through  it,  we  come  to  a large  paved  square. 
On  one  side  of  it,  and  at  the  foot  of  a hill  which  rises  be- 
hind it,  stand  the  sacred  edifices : a vast  temple,  with  the 


202 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


monastic  buildings  on  each  side  of  it,  imposing  in  their 
appearance  among  these  wilds  of  nature,  where  it  seems 
almost  a miracle  that  they  can  ever  have  been  reared  and 
enjoyed  by  man.  The  church  itself  is  adorned  with  extrav- 
agant pictures  and  marble  chapels  and  shrines,  and  just  at 
the  entrance  stands  the  image  of  “ Our  Lady  of  the  Her- 
mits/’ the  only  black  image  of  the  Virgin  I ever  saw.  She 
and  the  Holy  Child  wear  crowns  of  gold,  and  glitter  with 
diamonds  and  embroidered  garments,  their  faces  of  ebony 
shining  in  the  blaze  of  jewelry  and  tinsel  finery.  Before 
them,  worshippers  are  always  kneeling,  counting  their 
beads.  At  the  other  shrines  others  are  bowing  and  mur- 
muring their  prayers.  Painted  skeletons  of  celebrated  saints 
lie  exposed  in  marble  shrines.  The  offerings  of  those  who 
have  had  their  prayers  answered  hang  around  on  the  walls. 
All  sorts  of  prayers  are  here  made,  and  they  who  make  them 
believe  they  are  answered. 

In  the  square  in  front  of  the  church  is  a fountain  with  a 
dozen  jets  of  water,  and  each  pilgrim  drinks  from  each  one 
of  them,  to  be  certain  that  he  drinks  of  the  one  out  of 
which  the  Saviour  refreshed  himself  nine  hundred  years 
ago! 

The  monastery  is  freely  opened  to  strangers.  Through 
long  halls,  on  each  side  of  which  are  guest-chambers  where 
their  many  visitors  are  lodged,  we  were  led  to  a gallery, 
adorned  with  several  splendid  paintings,  presented  by 
Catholic  monarchs  : Louis  Napoleon  and  his  Empress,  the 
Austrian  Emperor,  and  several  historical  pictures.  Out  of 
this  we  walked  into  the  reception-room,  where  the  . abbot 
himself  was  so  condescending  as  to  meet  us.  He  speaks 
only  German  and  Latin.  A very  large  man,  of  command- 
ing form  and  presence ; with  a face  shining  like  the  sun 
with  good  humor,  good  living,  and  content,  he  answered 
perfectly  to  your  idea  of  the  abbot  of  a Romish  monastery. 
He  gave  me  a cordial  greeting,  and  understanding  that  I 


BLACK  VIRGIN  OF  EINSIEDELN. 


203 


was  from  America  asked  if  we  enjoyed  universal  peace. 
When  I assured  him  we  did,  he  spoke  of  the  late  contest  in 
Europe,  which  he  pronounced  “helium  atrocissimum,” — a 
most  atrocious  war.  Then  he  inquired  about  the  President, 
and  produced  from  his  private  rooms  a photograph  of  the 
late  Lincoln  in  the  arms  of  Washington  in  heaven ! 

After  a little  further  general  conversation  he  withdrew. 
He  is  by  virtue  of  his  office  a prince  of  the  Austrian 
empire,  and  is  so  addressed  by  all  the  Roman  Catholic 
cantons  of  Switzerland.  I was  highly  pleased  with  the 
interview,  and  not  less  with  one  of  the  monks  to  whose  kind 
care  I was  now  committed.  He  led  me  to  the  interior  of 
the  monastery,  where  the  cells  of  the  monks  are  arranged 
on  the  several  stories  or  floors : each  one  is  a comfortable 
room,  with  one  window  looking  into  the  walled  garden  and 
the  hill  that  rises  behind.  When  we  reached  his  own  he 
unlocked  it  and  showed  me  in ; placing  its  only  chair,  he 
bade  me  be  seated,  while  he  went  to  look  for  the  key  of  the 
library.  “ While  I am  absent,”  said  he,  “ enjoy  yourself  as 
you  please,  examine  every  thing,  and  be  quite  at  home.”  A 
few  books  were  in  a case  over  his  writing-desk,  by  which  he 
could  sit  or  stand  and  the  closets,  shelves,  every  thing  was 
bare  of  paint,  and  plain  as  could  be.  A little  bed  was  in 
one  corner  near  the  door,  simple  enough  for  an  anchorite. 
No  images,  pictures,  or  crucifixes  were  in  sight.  In  a few 
minutes  he  returned,  and  led  me  through  the  cabinet  of 
natural  history,  into  the  library  of  30,000  volumes,  neatly 
arranged  in  niches.  When  we  came  to  the  folios  of  the 
fathers,  I pointed  to  the  works  of  Xren^eus,  and  said : 1 
have  the  name  of  that  father,  my  own  father  having 
given  it  to  me  because  he  admired  the  writings  of  the  old 
author,  the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  who  sat  at  the  feet  of 
the  apostle  John;  I was  thus  in  the  line  of  the  succession. 
We  took  down  the  folio  and  looked  at  its  imprint.  Then 
he  asked  me  if  I would  like  to  see  the  manuscripts,  and 


204 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


upon  my  expressing  a strong  desire  to  do  so,  he  raised  an 
iron  trap-door,  and  conducted  me  by  a flight  of  stairs  into  a 
room  below,  where  an  immense  number  are  deposited,  and 
admirably  preserved  and  disposed.  None  of  them,  how- 
ever, are  very  ancient. 

A college  of  two  hundred  students  is  maintained  in  the 
same  range  of  buildings,  and  taught  by  some  of  the  monks. 
Of  these  monks  there  are  about  forty,  besides  the  priests 
who  minister  at  the  altars,  and  receive  confessions  in  Ger- 
man, French,  Italian,  and  Romanesch  languages,  according 
to  the  nationality  of . the  pilgrims.  The  monks  spend  their 
time  in  reading,  writing,  and  in  the  refectory,  where  they 
eat  together,  and  enjoy  the  good  things  of  this  life  as  well 
as  other  people.  Some  of  them  are  quite  old.  Death 
comes  here  as  elsewhere,  and  closes  up  a life  of  apparent 
indolence,  yet  possessing  some  strange  fascination  that  is 
hard  to  be  comprehended  by  the  outside  world.  It  cer- 
tainly is  not  favorable  to  the  highest  usefulness,  for  these 
men  might  be  doing  far  more  for  God  and  their  fellow-men 
in  the  pursuit  of  some  honest  calling,  preaching  the  gospel, 
or  working  with  their  hands.  They  consume  and  do  not 
produce.  Nor  is  this  mode  of  life  friendly  to  holiness. 
Passions  are  part  of  man’s  nature,  and  they  are  not 
quenched  or  dwarfed  by  seclusion  from  intercourse  with 
the  outer  world.  Human  sympathies,  which  are  cultivated 
and  refined  by  the  practice  of  social  virtues,  and  so  tend  to 
make  us  better,  are  not  apt  to  flourish  in  the  cell  of  a 
monk.  And  although  the  walls  of  this  magnificent  monas- 
tery, in  a sterile  Alpine  valley,  shut  out  the  pomps  and 
vanities  of  the  world,  they  cannot  be  made  so  high  or  so 
strong  as  to  confine  the  wandering  desire,  which  will  sap 
the  foundations  of  the  sternest  virtue,  and  make  the  bosom 
the  seat  of  vice  to  which  the  soul  consents,  and  therefore 
suffers.  The  pure  in  heart  see  God.  Not  in  the  cloister  of 
the  anchorite,  the  monk’s  lonely  cell,  nor  the  hermit’s 


LIFE  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


205 


cave ; but  in  the  steadfast  pursuit  of  the  Good,  the  True, 
and  the  Great,  in  the  daily  walks  of  life.  It  is  virtue  to  live 
above  the  world,  while  living  in  it.  None  but  the  children 
of  the  Holy  One  can  walk  through  the  furnace  without  the 
smell  of  fire  on  their  garments. 

Such  were  my  thoughts  as  I left  the  monastery,  shaking 
hands  with  Father  Reifle,  the  Benedictine,  who  had  so 
kindly  waited  upon  me,  and  by  his  intelligent  conversation 
and  lively  interest  in  my  enjoyment  had  won  my  warm 
regards.  He  put  the  key  into  the  lock  of  the  iron  gate  at 
the  head  of  the  stone  stairs,  and  unlocking  it  let  me  out, 
and  we  bade  each  other  Adieu,  as  he  stood  within  and  I 
without  the  door. 

Returning  to  Zurich,  and  going  thence  to  St.  Gall,  I 
mounted  a diligence,  and  rode  an  hour  and  a half  into  the  hill 
country,  up  hill  all  the  way,  to  a place  unheard-of  in  the 
guide-books,  and  unvisited  by  travellers,  unless  business  or 
the  search  for  solitude  should  call  them  there.  It  is  at 
least  a thousand  feet  above  the  lake,  of  which  a distant  view 
is  had,  and  in  the  midst  of  beautiful  high  valleys,  green  past- 
ures, and  thrifty  villages,  three  or  four  of  which  are  in  sight, 
each  with  its  single  church  spire  or  tower.  Not  a boarding- 
house was  to  be  found  in  the  place.  There  is  a hotel,  but 
hotels  had  been  my  dwelling-place  long  enough,  and  now  I 
would  have  a home,  and  such  a home  as  the  people  around 
me  enjoy.  In  a private  family,  the  village  apothecary’s,  I 
learned  that,  perhaps,  a room  could  be  had,  and  thither  I 
bent  my  steps.  Happily  for  me,  they  were  willing  to  take 
me  in,  and  in  a short  time  the  apartments  were  ready  and  I 
was  duly  installed. 

My  quarters  are  a parlor  and  bedroom,  on  the  front  of 
the  house,  first  floor,  up  stairs  over  the  shop.  The  floor  is 
uncarpeted,  made  of  various  Swiss  woods  laid  in  mosaic,  in 
diamond  shapes,  of  three  different  colors.  A large,  earthen, 
polished,  white,  monument-like  thing,  gilt  at  the  corniced 


20  6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


summit,  stands  on  one  side,  and  I soon  learn  that  it  is  a 
stove,  the  door  of  which  is  out  in  the  hall,  where  the  fire  is 
kindled,  and  now  in  the  middle  of  August  a fire  is  needed 
all  the  time.  On  the  corners  of  this  ornamental  as  well  as 
useful  pile  stand  two  Parian  busts,  one  of  Goethe  and  the 
other  of  Schiller.  An  engraving  of  Schiller  reading  one  of 
his  poems  to  his  friends  hangs  on  the  wall,  and  a portrait  of 
Columbus,  and  another  of  Luther  and  other  celebrities  are 
around  me.  The  windows  extend  without  interruption  over 
the  entire  length  of  the  room,  and  a row  of  flowers  in  pots 
are  on  the  sill  outside,  and  embroidered  curtains  within. 
The  shutters  are  closed  by  raising  them  with  a strap,  as  the 
windows  of  a rail-car.  A sofa,  an  easy  chair  covered  with 
leather,  three  tables,  a divan,  and  a chair  or  two,  with  rugs 
lying  around,  and  little  gems  of  art  with  books  scattered 
about,  complete  the  furniture  of  this  perfectly  comfortable 
and  delightful  room.  The  walls  and  ceiling  are  all  panel- 
work  in  wood,  painted  white,  and  as  purely  white  as  the 
Alpine  snows.  In  the  bedroom,  the  floor,  the  wall,  and 
ceiling  are  as  in  the  parlor,  only  the  color  is  a light  salmon, 
very  chaste  and  clean.  The  bed  has  a down  comforter  on 
the  top  of  it,  and  two  pillows,  with  double  cases,  the  inner 
of  figured  green  silk,  showing  at  the  open  embroidered  end 
of  the  outer  linen.  It  is  almost  too  pretty  to  sleep  in,  in 
the  dark.  Over  the  head  of  the  bed  is  a beautiful  engraving 
of  Uhland’s  “ Landlord’s  Daughter.”  On  the  stand  at  the 
bedside  is  a little  basket  of  confectionery,  a porcelain  trans- 
parency of  the  Saviour  standing  among  the  clouds  and 
pointing  heavenward ; a china  night-lamp  burning  with  a 
bowl  of  water  over  it,  kept  hot  by  the  lamp  ; and  every  little 
nick-nack  that  delicate  taste  and  an  appreciating  sense  of 
what  comfort  is  would  be  likely  to  suggest. 

I am  asked,  before  retiring,  at  what  hour  I will  breakfast, 
and  I reply,  “ When  the  family  do  ; and  let  every  thing  be  as 
you  are  in  the  habit  of  having  it.” 


LIFE  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


207 


The  times  of  eating  and  the  food  were  not  to  my  taste 
the  first  day.  It  took  me  a little  while  to  get  adjusted  to 
the  change.  But  in  every  country  I would  live  as  the  well- 
to-do  people  of  the  country  live.  And  here  I soon  learned 
that  the  number  of  meals  and  the  hours  of  eating  were 
regulated  by  the  climate,  which  is  so  bracing  as  to  indicate 
frequent  eating  and  substantial  diet.  I am  writing  this  at 
ten  o’clock  at  night,  and  I will  give  you  the  journal  of  the 
day. 

Breakfast  at  7^  a.m.,  consisting  of  coffee,  bread  and  butter, 
with  honey  and  cold  meat. 

Dinner  at  12,  noon,  soup,  fish,  boiled  beef,  beef  a la 
mode , vegetables,  salads,  cucumbers,  apricots,  pears,  plums, 
apples,  preserves,  pastry,  &c. 

Lunch  at  4 p.m.,  coffee,  bread  and  butter  and  honey. 
Everybody  takes  this  meal  as  well  as  the  others.  They 
come  in  from  the  fields  and  the  shops  to  their  coffee 
at  4. 

Supper  at  8 p.m.  I am  almost  ashamed  to  say  that  at 
8 this  meal  was  served  in  my  parlor,  for  me  only : soup 
and  a roast  chicken,  which  disappeared,  leaving  scarce  a 
wreck  behind.  And  I forgot  to  say  that  at  six  o’clock  I 
took  tea  out  with  a private  family  in  the  village,  where  the 
table  was  spread  with  the  richest  cream,  butter,  straw- 
berries, currants,  bread,  and  honey,  — all  but  the  tea  being 
the  fruit  of  the  gentleman’s  own  grounds.  And  at  my 
table  there  were  presented  several  dishes  not  enumerated 
above,  the  names  of  which  were  worse  than  Greek,  and 
the  compound  of  a color  and  odor  that  did  not  enlist  my 
sympathies.  However,  I try  a little  of  every  thing,  and 
eat  all  the  time.  I understand  there  is  a doctor  in  the 
village,  whose  fame  extends  to  distant  cities,  and  ere  the 
week  is  out  I may  have  to  test  his  skill. 


208 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


IN  THE  HOTELS  AND  ON  THE  ROAD. 

It  is  one  thing  to  travel  in  a country,  stopping  only  at  the 
great  hotels,  and  quite  another  to  get  off  the  highways, 
among  the  people,  and  live  as  they  live.  At  the  hotels,  the 
aim  is  to  give  you  the  kind  and  quality  of  food  you  are  ac- 
customed to  in  your  own  land,  to  put  you  into  a good  bed, 
and  charge  you  just  as  much  as  you  will  pay.  It  is  my  way, 
when  I can,  to  get  out  of  the  beaten  paths  of  travel,  and 
mingle,  if  possible,  with  the  natives  of  the  country,  and 
those,  too,  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of  entertaining  stran- 
gers, and  soon  learning  that  they  are  fair  game  to  be  plucked 
as  long  as  they  have  any  feathers. 

More  than  half  the  guests  in  the  Swiss  hotels  are  Amer- 
icans. The  English  complain  — John  is  generally  grum- 
bling — that  the  Americans  get  the  best  rooms  at  the 
hotels,  and  that  travelling  on  the  continent  is  not  half  so 
agreeable.  It  was  my  misfortune  to  travel  last  week  in  the 
same  compartment  of  the  rail-car  with  an  English  clergy- 
man and  his  wife  [and,  by  the  way,  she  called  him  hubby , 
for  husband,  whenever  she  spoke  to  him,  — an  appellation 
for  the  head  of  the  house  that  was  new  to  me,  and  not  very 
agreeable].  He  said  he  would  write  a letter  to  the  Times , — 
that  is  an  Englishman’s  universal  refuge  when  he  thinks 
himself  imposed  upon  in  travel.  “ I shHl  write  to  the  Times 
about  this  country,  and  I shHl  say  that  the  cookin’  is  exceed- 
in’ly  mean,  the  scenery  very  dull,  and  the  travellin’  decid- 
edly uncomfortable.”  But  he  was  as  near  being  a fool  as  a 
man  could  well  be,  and  be  at  large.  His  tongue  ran  inces- 
santly, and  he  talked  so  loud  that  no  other  conversation 
could  be  had,  and  everybody  must  listen  to  his  twaddle  and 
complaints.  “ The  ’ills  were  too  ’igh  ” for  him  to  think  of 
climbin’  any  of  them,  and  not  “ ’igh  ” enough  to  interest  him 
in  lookin’  at  them ; and  on  the  whole  he  thought  Switzer- 
land a failure. 


LIFE  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


209 


It  is  curious  to  observe  how  soon  Americans  are  known 
to  be  such,  anywhere  in  Europe.  In  England,  a hotel  waiter 
or  a porter  at  a lodge  or  castle  would  know  you  to  be  an 
American,  certainly  the  moment  you  spoke,  and  perhaps 
before,  A woman  said  to  me  when  I had  said  that  I was 
an  American,  “ You  don’t  speak  like  one.”  When  I pressed 
for  an  answer  to  the  question,  “What  is  the  difference 
between  my  speech  and  others,”  she  replied,  after  much 
hesitation,  “Why,  I thought  all  your  countrymen  talked 
through  the  nose.” 

That  educated  Americans,  and  all  of  them  accustomed  to 
good  society  at  home,  speak  the  English  language  with  as 
much  propriety  and  purity  as  the  most  cultivated  English- 
men, is  certainly  true,  and  it  may  safely  be  added  that  the 
masses  of  the  people  in  America,  born  to  the  manner,  speak 
it  far  better.  Small  as  England  is,  the  dialects  of  the  prov- 
inces are  so  diverse,  that  one  is  often  sorely  puzzled  to 
understand  a commonplace  remark  or  inquiry.  It  was  very 
amusing,  too,  to  perceive  that  many  slang  phrases,  or  tech- 
nical terms,  that  we  had  supposed  to  be  of  local  origin  and 
use  in  the  United  States,  were  as  common  in  England  as 
with  us  at  home.  “ You’ll  ’ave  lots  of  time,”  says  the  coach- 
man. “ I’ll  pop  out  your  luggage,”  when  he  would  tell  us 
that  it  would  be  done  instantly,  said  the  conductor. 

But  the  language  is  not  more  marked  by  its  peculiarities 
than  the  planners.  There  are  all  sorts  of  people  in  every  land. 
Some  of  each  variety  go  abroad,  so  that  we  must  expect  to 
meet  them,  and  it  is  very  absurd  to  judge  of  a country  by 
the  few  specimens  you  meet  on  the  road.  But  while  I am 
heartily  ashamed  of  some  of  my  own  countrymen  who  are 
abroad,  and  make  themselves  ridiculous  by  an  extravagance 
of  independence  that  amounts  to  a contempt  of  every  thing 
and  everybody  except  themselves  and  their  country,  still  I 
think  that,  as  a whole,  they  are  the  best  behaved  people 
abroad.  At  the  Baur  du  Lac  Hotel,  Zurich,  day  before 


210 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


yesterday,  at  breakfast,  a German  lady  took  her  seat  at  the 
head  of  a long  table,  rested  both  elbows  upon  it,  and  taking 
a roll  of  bread  eight  inches  long,  held  it  in  both  hands,  and 
without  taking  it  from  her  lips,  or  taking  her  elbows  down, 
she  ate  the  whole  of  it  from  end  to  end.  I sat  next  to  her, 
on  the  corner,  and  saw  it  done.  She  then  took  another 
roll,  a round  one,  and  devoured  that : all  this  while  waiting 
for  her  coffee.  What  more  she  ate,  or  how,  I did  not  see, 
having  turned  away  in  disgust.  It  is  not  probable  that  any 
woman  from  America  would  go  through  such  an  exercise  at  r 
home  or  abroad. 

Yesterday,  in  the  rail-car  in  which  I was  riding,  an  Eng- 
lish gentleman  and  family  entered  the  compartment  in 
which  I was  seated,  the  only  passenger.  There  were  four 
seats,  two  on  each  side  of  a little  table,  on  which  we  could 
lay  books  or  papers.  Overhead  were  racks  and  pegs  for 
bags  and  bundles.  He  piled  his,  and  his  wife’s,  and  his 
wife’s  sister’s,  on  the  top  of  the  table,  usurping  the  whole 
of  it,  and  utterly  ignoring  the  right  of  anybody  else  to  any 
of  it.  Jonathan  would  put  a thing  in  its  place,  and  be 
ashamed  to  interfere  with  the  convenience  of  his  neighbor. 
John  Bull  looks  out  for  number  one.  This  selfishness  ex- 
tends to  neglecting  those  little  attentions  to  women,  on 
which  an  American  prides  himself,  and  which  makes  it  so 
easy  for  women  in  America  to  travel  alone. 

On  the  French  and  Swiss  railroads  has  been  introduced 
an  improvement  that  may  be  commended  to  our  directors. 
In  every  train  there  is  a car  with  one  compartment,  marked 
on  the  outside,  “ For  women  junattended.”  Into  this  carriage 
ladies  who  have  no  male  escort  enter,  and  are  properly  cared 
for  by  the  conductor.  They  can  travel  in  this  way  in  seclu- 
sion and  with  entire  safety ; but  after  all  it  is  quite  prob- 
able that  the  women  in  America  would  be  quite  as  willing 
to  take  their  chances  with  the  men ; and,  perhaps,  the 
experiment,  if  tried,  would  be  a failure.  One  thing  the 


LIFE  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


21  I 


railway  people  might  learn  of  us,  and  that  is,  to  check  the 
baggage.  In  place  of  it,  here  they  give  you  a slip  of  paper 
with  a number  on  it,  and  paste  a corresponding  slip  on  your 
trunk,  which  is  some  protection,  but  not  so  safe  nor  so 
convenient  as  our  plan.  In  many  respects  the  European 
railroad  system  is  far,  very  far,  superior  to  ours.  Its  safety 
is  incomparably  greater  than  ours.  An  accident  is  very 
rare.  I have  not  heard  of  one  since  coming  abroad.  The 
connections  are  invariably  made.  The  track  is  more  solid 
and  secure.  The  road  is  made  for  ages.  There  are  grades 
of  fare  according  to  the  accommodation.  The  first  class  is 
better  than  any  of  ours.  The  second  is  not  equal  to  ours, 
and  the  third  is  inferior  to  the  second. 


212 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN, 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CANTON  APPENZELL  — SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


Peasants  ok  Eastern  Switzerland. 


"VT^OU  have  never  been  in  Trogen.  You  have  never  heard 
of  Trogen.  You  do  not  know  where  on  the  map  to 
look  for  Trogen,  and  you  probably  would  not  find  it,  if  you 
looked  for  Trogen. 


CANTON  APPENZELL. 


213 

Trogen  is  one  of  the  little  villages  in  Canton  Appenzell, 
in  Switzerland.  It  is  reached  by  carriage  from  St.  Gall,  a 
large  town  on  the  railroad  from  Zurich  to  Constance.  As 
soon  as  you  leave  the  line  of  the  rail,  you  begin  to  ascend, 
and  it  is  all  the  way  up,  up,  up,  till  you  get  here.  We 
passed  a convent  about  half  the  way  up,  inhabited  by 
nuns,  who  were  once  expelled  from  St.  Gall.  They  have 
now  a rich  establishment;  very  secluded,  and  perfectly  im- 
penetrable in  its  interior  mysteries.  You  can  see  the  re- 
ception rooms  and  the  chapel,  and  the  grating  that  separates 
the  nuns  from  you  and  all  the  world : that’s  all,  — no,  not 
quite  all ; in  the  chapel  they  will  show  you  a human  skele- 
ton, decked  with  magnificent  jewelry,  enough  to  adorn  a 
princess  ; and  this  may  teach  you  that  the  pomps  and 
vanities  of  the  world  are  wasted  on  one  who  is  soon  to  be 
a bundle  of  bones. 

When  you  reach  the  summit  of  the  hill,  a scene  of  ex- 
traordinary grandeur  and  loveliness  lies  around  and  below 
you.  As  far  as  the  eye  reaches,  it  is  a succession  of 
green,  cultured,  and  peopled  hills,  often  crowned  with 
villages,  but  mostly  marked  by  scattered  dwellings  in  the 
midst  of  beautiful  farms,  white  roads  winding  around  and 
over  the  hills,  and  in  the  distance,  through  an  opening,  lies 
the  lake  of  Constance,  a picture  of  silver  in  a fair  setting  of 
emerald.  Trogen  is  the  largest  of  the  villages  ; but  there 
are  three  more  in  sight,  Speicher,  Wald,  and  Rechdobell, 
each  with  its  single  church  tower  ; for  the  people  are 
all  Protestants,  and  all  Lutherans.  In  this  village  and 
Speicher,  close  by,  there  is  not  one  Roman  Catholic  family, 
and  I believe  that  is  a very  unusual  fact  in  this  country, 
where  there  are  nearly  as  many  of  the  one  as  the  other, 
and  they  are  mingled  closely  in  many  of  the  cantons. 

Here  there  is  only  one  church,  and  that  German.  Ser- 
vice is  held  on  Sunday  at  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning. 
The  church  is  a well-built  edifice  of  stone,  about  one  hun- 


214 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


dred  years  old,  with  frescoed  ceilings,  representing  the 
Ascension,  Christ  blessing  the  children,  and  other  scenes 
not  intelligible  to  me.  The  women  sat  by  themselves  and 
made  three-fourths  of  the  congregation.  As  each  one 
came  in,  he  or  she  stood  in  silent  prayer,  reverently  bend- 
ing ; the  women  then  sat  down,  the  men  remained  standing. 
They  stood  patiently  till  the  minister  came  in  and  opened 
the  services,  and  they  did  not  take  their  seats  until  the 
sermon  was  begun.  On  this  occasion  there  was  an  un- 
usual number  of  children  present,  as  in  one  of  the  large 
schools  there  had  been  during  the  week  past  the  death 
of  a scholar,  and  now  all  the  pupils  came  in  procession, 
and  took  their  seats  together.  All  the  men,  who  were 
relatives  of  the  deceased,  wore  black  bombazine  gowns, 
swinging  loosely  on  their  backs,  a badge  of  mourning.  The 
service  opened  with  a voluntary  hymn  by  the  children  in 
the  gallery,  well  sung.  Then  the  pastor  read  a psalm, 
which  was  sung  by  the  entire  congregation, — there  was  no 
organ.  I should  think  every  one  in  the  house  had  a voice, 
and  used  it  with  the  spirit  and  the  understanding  also. 
Prayers  were  then  read  by  the  pastor,  all  the  people  stand- 
ing. At  the  close,  the  minister  announced  his  subject,  and 
then  the  people  — the  men  for  the  first  time  — sat  down. 

He  was  a young  man,  clothed  in  a black  gown,  with  a 
blue  silk  or  woollen  ruffle  about  his  neck.  He  read  his 
text,  “ On  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  men,”  and,  shutting 
the  book,  delivered  his  discourse  without  notes,  with  great 
ease,  fluency,  animation,  and  much  eloquence.  His  manner 
was  good,  and  the  attention  of  the  congregation  was  kept 
closely  fixed.  His  leading  idea  was  that  peace  is  to  be 
found  only  by  union  with  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  And 
he  pursued  this  thought  beyond  the  experience  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  the  wants  of  the  community  and  the  nation, 
insisting  with  great  earnestness  that  wars  come  from  the 
want  of  Christian  love,  that  good-will  which  Christ  came 


CANTON  APPENZELL. 


215 


to  bring,  and  he  warned  his  people  and  the  people  of  Swit- 
zerland, that  now,  as  in  ages  past,  their  only  hope  for 
national  unity  and  peace  was  in  union  with  God,  on  whom 
alone  they  could  depend. 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon  he  read  prayers  again,  the 
people  all  standing.  Then  he  proclaimed  the  names  of  cer- 
tain parties  intending  marriage,  and  also  he  mentioned  the 
names  of  any  who  had  died  during  the  past  week.  After  a 
hymn  had  been  sung,  he  descended  from  the  pulpit.  The 
people,  still  standing,  bowed  their  heads  reverently  in  silent 
prayer  for  a moment,  and  just  then  a man  in  the  body  of 
the  church  cried  out  an  advertisement  of  an  auction  sale  to 
take  place  in  the  neighborhood.  The  women  now  left  the 
house,  not  a man  sitting  down,  or  moving  from  his  place, 
till  all  the  females,  old  and  young,  had  reached  the  door. 
The  minister  next  walked  out,  and  the  men  followed.  The 
service  was  over  in  one  hour  and  a half.  An  hour-glass 
stood  on  the  pulpit,  but  was  not  in  use,  as  the  large  clock 
was  in  full  sight,  and  the  bell  clanged  every  quarter  of  an 
hour,  as  it  does  day  and  night. 

It  was  a kind  and  beautiful  providence  that  turned  my 
weary  footsteps  to  this  remote  and  unfrequented  canton  of 
Switzerland.  Harper’s  Hand-book,  an  invaluable  guide  for 
American  travellers  in  Europe,  has  not  even  the  name  of 
the  place  in  its  index.  Murray’s  Hand-book,  which  all  the 
English  go  by,  says  44  it  is  but  little  visited  by  English 
travellers.”  To  get  into  it  by  any  other  than  the  easy  road 
through  the  north-eastern  passage,  you  must  cross  the  high 
Alps  and  glaciers  which  bound  it,  and  add  as  much  to  its 
picturesque  beauty  as  they  take  from  the  comfort  of  travel- 
ling. But  if  you  visit  Constance,  — where  John  Huss  was 
tried  and  condemned  and  burnt  at  the  stake,  — it  is  easy 
to  come  to  Appenzell. 

And  speaking  of  Constance  leads  me  to  that  memorable 
spot,  on  the  border  of  the  lake  that  for  a week  past  has  been 


21 6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


always  under  my  eye,  a spot  that  deserves  a monument, 
a beacon  to  warn  the  church  of  the  guilt  and  shame  of 
religious  bigotry  and  intolerance.  It  is  almost  like  a judg- 
ment that  the  city  itself,  which  for  four  years  harbored  the 
ecclesiastical  council  that  murdered  John  Huss  and  Jerome 
of  Prague,  has  now  but  one-fifth  of  the  population  thatonce 
inhabited  it.  As  I stood  on  the  place  where  it  is  said  the 
martyr’s  stake  was  planted,  and  remembered  the  glorious 
truths  which  he  witnessed  in  the  flames,  I thought  how 
little  is  the  world  improved  even  to  this  day,  where  the  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  powers  are  still  in  the  same  hands.  For 
as  we  travel  in  these  European  countries,  the  line  that 
divides  the  Protestant  from  the  Roman  Catholic  canton,  or 
part  of  a canton,  is  just  as  clear  as  if  a wall  of  adamant, 
high  as  the  sky,  were  set  up  between.  Even  Murray’s 
Guide-book,  which  does  not  pretend  to  any  religious 
opinions,  speaking  of  the  two  parts  of  Canton  Appenzell, 
says  : 

“A  remarkable  change  greets  the  traveller  on  entering  Roman 
Catholic  Inner  Rhoden,  from  Protestant  Outer  Rhoden.  He  ex- 
changes cleanliness  and  industry  for  filth  and  beggary.  What  may  be 
the  cause  of  this  is  not  a subject  suitable  for  discussion  here.” 

Yet  the  moral  philosopher,  the  philanthropist,  the  patriot, 
above  all  the  Christian,  even  a Christian  traveller,  wishes 
to  consider  “ the  cause,”  whether  it  is  proper  or  not  for  a 
guide-book  to  discuss  it.  As  travelling  tends  to  promote 
liberality  of  sentiment,  to  enlarge  one’s  charity,  and  to 
convince  even  a strict  adherent  to  his  hereditary  faith,  that 
many,  far  from  his  way  of  thinking,  are  just  as  sure  of 
heaven  as  he  is,  so  travelling  opens  one’s  eyes  to  the  effect 
of  the  different  systems  of  religion  upon  the  social,  tem- 
poral, political,  as  well  as  moral  condition  of  men.  And  I 
have  been  amazed  to  find  how  powerful  is  this  effect  upon 
mere  men  of  the  world,  men  who  have  never  given  a 
thought  before  to  the  influence  of  one  religion  rather  than 


SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


217 


another  on  the  face  of  society.  Even  the  guide-books  call 
attention  to  the  shameful  fact  that  “filth  and  beggary”  are 
the  distinguishing  features  of  a part  of  one  country  that 
differs  from  the  rest  only  in  being  Roman  Catholic.  The 
same  laws,  the  same  climate,  the  same  facilities  for  acquir- 


ing the  means  of  living,  and  just  as  much  soap  and  water 
in  one  as  the  other,  but  the  thrift  and  the  neatness  of  one 
are  in  brilliant  contrast  with  the  poverty  and  nastiness  of 
its  neighbor. 

The  customs  of  the  canton  are  somewhat  peculiar.  I 
was  informed  that  they  still  adhere  to  the  use  of  the  pillory 
for  the  punishment  of  petty  offences,  and  the  machine 
stands  by  the  wayside,  with  a hole  for  the  neck,  a padlock, 
and  a chain.  But  I did  not  see  any  thing  of  the  kind.  Nor 
did  I see  the  bone-house , in  any  churchyard,  where  it  is 


218 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


said  the  bones  are  deposited  of  those  who  have  been  buried 
a certain  number  of  years,  and  who  must  then  give  place  to 
others.  Their  bones  are  taken  up,  properly  labelled  and 
laid  away  on  shelves  in  the  bone-house,  so  that  their  friends 
can  get  them,  or  any  part  of  them,  when  wanted.  As  the 
graveyards  are  usually  small,  and  no  attention  is  paid  to 
the  relationship  of  the  parties  buried  side  by  side,  it  is 
quite  likely  that,  after  the  lapse  of  thirty  or  forty  years, 
there  would  be  no  objection  to  this  arrangement,  which 
strikes  us  as  exceedingly  unpleasant,  if  not  positively  revolt- 
ing. 

Every  evening  at  half-past  eight  o’clock  the  church  bell 
is  rung,  and  all  the  children  must  immediately  go  home. 
If  they  are  abroad  after  that,  they  are  taken  into  custody 
by  the  patrol  of  the  streets,  and  either  delivered  to  their 
parents,  or,  if  frequent  offenders,  they  are  kept  in  durance 
overnight.  This  is  an  admirable  regulation,  which  I com- 
mend to  imitation  in  free  America.  It  is  adopted  here  in  a 
pure  democracy,  and  works  admirably  well.  In  the  cities 
it  would  be  a great  moral  life  preserver,  worth  millions  of 
dollars  and  as  many  souls,  that  would  be  saved  by  the  plan. 

At  eleven  o’clock  the  watchman  sings  a set  of  phrases  in 
a clear,  loud  voice,  which  often  disturbs  me  as  he  shouts, 
just  under  my  window,  “ Put  out  lights,  cover  up  your  fires, 
lock  your  doors,  say  your  prayers,  and  go  to  bed.” 

I learned  here  a bridal  custom  of  this  region,  so  sensible, 
and  proper,  that  I shall  mention  it  for  the  benefit  of  the 
young  folks.  The  custom  of  making  gifts  to  the  bride  pre- 
vails here,  as  everywhere,  but  it  is  better  regulated.  The 
bride  makes  out  a written  list  of  things  that  she  will  require 
in  beginning  to  keep  house,  especially  those  things  that  are 
over  and  above  what  would  naturally  be  furnished  by  her 
parents.  This  list  is  taken  by  her  friends,  and  one  of  them 
says,  “ I will  give  her  this,”  and  marks  that  as  provided  for  ; 
another  will  give  her  that,  and  sometimes  two  or  three  or 


SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


219 


more  will  combine  and  furnish  a more  expensive  present 
than  any  one  would  give  alone.  After  the  wedding,  the 
couple  usually  start  off  on  an  excursion,  and  on  their  return 
they  find  their  dwelling  filled  with  these  presents,  each 
marked  with  the  giver’s  name. 

These  people  are  very  fond  of  athletic  sports  and  exercises, 
games  that  call  forth  prodigious  strength,  and  make  the 
inhabitants  of  this  canton  famous  for  their  skill  and  power. 
Every  holiday,  and  many  a Sunday,  is  given  up  to  wrest- 
ling and  boxing.  They  are  like  the  Scotch  in  hurling  a 
heavy  weight.  They  will  throw  a stone  of  50  or  100 
pounds.  A man  some  fifty  years  ago  threw  a stone  ten 
feet  that  weighed  184  pounds.  But  their  great  sport  is 
shooting  for  a prize.  They  are  splendid  shots.  Shooting 
matches  are  held  every  year  in  the  villages,  and  sometimes 
they  are  matches  between  the  people  of  the  whole  canton, 
and  again  of  the  whole  country.  As  we  travel  we  see  the 
targets  standing  at  the  foot  of  a hill,  and  buildings  that  are 
put  up  for  the  purpose  of  accommodating  the  companies  that 
are  formed  for  the  encouragement  of  this  national  accom- 
plishment. 

So  ignorant  was  I of  the  forms  of  government  existing 
in  this  part  of  the  world,  I did  not  know  that  six  out  of  the 
twenty-two  cantons,  or. states,  of  Switzerland  are  purely 
democratic  in  their  government.  It  is  true  that  this  is 
modified,  in  a measure,  by  their  confederation  with  the 
others,  and  that  they  have  delegated  to  their  general  gov- 
ernment the  power  of  declaring  war,  coining  money,  and 
regulating  a system  of  mails.  And,  by  the  way,  postage 
is  cheap  in  Switzerland : five  centimes,  or  one  cent  of  our 
money,  conveying  a letter  anywhere  within  the  country, 
and,  in  all  the  villages  and  cities,  delivering  it  at  the 
residence  of  the  receiver.  These  several  cantons  are,  in 
other  matters,  independent  of  each  other  ; and,  in  times 
long  past,  have  had  fearfully  bloody  wars  among  them- 


220 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


selves.  They  are  at  peace  now,  but  from  father  to  son 
is  handed  down  the  story  of  the  wars. 

This  canton,  containing  a population  of  about  50,000,  is 
a simple  democracy,  and  as  primitive  and  pure  as  ever 
could  have  existed  in  the  earliest  days  of  Greece  or  Rome, 
before  an  oligarchy  or  a monarchy  was  known.  Here  the 
people,  all  the  males  over  eighteen  years  old,  actually 
assemble,  personally,  and  in  one  place,  to  choose  the  nec- 
essary officers,  and  to  make  their  own  laws.  This  popular 
meeting  is  held  annually,  in  April,  and  on  Sunday  always. 

On  that  day  there  is  no  preaching  in  any  church  in  the 
canton,  except  the  one  where  the  election  is  held.  All 
the  ministers  come  with  the  people.  At  the  close  of  the 
morning  service,  the  election  is  opened  by  prayer,  and  then 
the  people  proceed  to  the  discharge  of  this  serious  duty, 
the  act  of  their  individual  sovereignty.  Every  'man  wears 
a sword  by  his  side,  a token  of  his  being  a freeman  ; for, 
centuries  ago,  when  serfdom  prevailed,  only  freemen  could 
vote,  and  they  wore  swords.  Now,  all  wear  swords  on 
election  day,  for  all  are  free. 

The  canton  is  not  so  large  but  that  they  can  all  come 
and  return  on  the  same  day,  and,  for  the  most  part,  they 
come  on  foot.  It  is  expected  that  they  will  all  come.  And 
where  the  power  of  voting  is  equally  distributed  in  this 
way,  and  every  man  feels  that  he  is  an  equal  part  of  the 
government,  there  is  little  danger  of  any  one’s  staying 
away  who  is  physically  able  to  come.  They  meet  some- 
times in  one  place,  and  sometimes  in  another,  but  mostly 
in  this  village  of  Trogen,  on  the  public  square.  Here  a 
platform  is  erected,  and  the  officers  chosen  last  year  con- 
duct the  proceedings.  The  landeman,  or  chief,  presides,  and 
the  clerk  announces  the  name  of  any  one  nominated  for 
public  office.  All  in  favor  hold  up  their  right  hands.  All  op- 
posed then  do  the  same.  If  there  is  any  doubt,  a count 
would  be  resorted  to,  but  that  is  never  necessary.  Office 


SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


221 


is  not  sought  with  any  great  rapacity,  and  the  people  are 
not  divided  into  parties  fighting  for  the  spoils.  The 
several  officers  thus  elected  are  charged  with  the  execu- 
tion of  the  laws..  A council  is  appointed,  which  meets 
from  time  to  time,  in  the  state-house  here,  and  consults 
in  regard  to  the  internal  affairs  of  the  canton.  If  any  new 
legislation  is  necessary,  they  frame  the  law,  put  it  into 
print,  and  a copy  of  it  is  then  placed  in  every  house  in  the 
entire  canton.  It  is  not  yet  a law ; it  is  thus  distributed 
that  the  people,  who  are  the  law-makers,  may  examine  it, 
talk  it  over  among  themselves,  and  make  up  their  minds  as  to 
its  expediency.  If  it  is  of  importance  sufficiently  pressing 
to  require  immediate  action,  a meeting  of  the  people  may 
be  held  four  weeks  after  the  law  has  been  proposed  ; but 
generally  this  is  avoided  by  having  the  measures  submitted 
to  the  annual  assembly  in  April.  Then  the  law  is  sub- 
mitted to  the  mass  meeting,  and  they  vote  for  or  against  it, 
by  the  uplifted  hand.  As  ample  time  has  been  given  to 
the  people  to  discuss  the  matter,  there  is  no  call  for  long 
speeches,  nor  would  they  be  tolerated  by  an  assembly  that 
was  bound  to  break  up  and  get  home  the  same  night.  And 
the  laws  thus  adopted  are  put  in  force  by  the  magistrates 
appointed  by  the  popular  vote,  and  often  at  the  same  time 
that  the  laws  themselves  are  adopted. 

Among  the  principal  cares  of  such  officers  must  be  the 
construction  and  repairs  of  the  highways.  Oh  that  our 
American  people  would  send  a commissioner  of  their  coun- 
try pathmasters  over  here  ! Within  the  last  four  years  two 
of  these  cantons  have  built  a road  along  the  eastern  side  of 
Lake  Lucerne  that  would  do  honor  to  Napoleon  in  the 
days  of  his  mightiest  power.  For  miles  it  is  cut  into  the 
edge  of  solid  rock,  which  makes  the  bed  of  the  road,  and 
a parapet ; sometimes  it  is  a tunnel,  and  once  a tunnel  with 
windows  looking  out  on  the  lake.  All  are  made  by  the 
voluntary,  self-imposed  taxation  of  a hard-working  people. 


222 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


And  so  far  as  I can  judge  or  learn,  this  community,  so 
governed,  is  as  orderly  and  happy  as  any  other.  Whatever 
good  government  can  do  for  a people  is  done  for  this,  and 
the  people  do  it  for  themselves.  Switzerland  is  an  en- 
lightened country,  and  probably  as  moral  a people  as  any 
other.  By  law  every  child  is  required  to  attend  school 
from  three  to  four  hours  every  day  till  he  is  twelve  years 
old,  and  a certain  number  of  hours  every  week  afterwards 
till  he  is  sixteen.  This  makes  education  a necessity,  unless 
the  children  are  incompetent  to  learn.  And  there  is  an 
enthusiasm  on  the  subject  of  education  surprising  even  to 
an  American.  The  various  grades  of  schools  meet  the 
wants  of  all,  and  fit  the  young  for  any  department  of 
life’s  great  work.  In  this  village  the  cantonal  college, 
or  high  school,  is  located.  Any  parent  may  send  his  son 
here  from  any  part  of  the  canton,  and  he  is  educated  at  a 
trifling  expense.  Young  men  go  from  this  school,  at  once, 
into  mercantile  employment  in  Asia,  in  France,  England 
and  America.  And  there  are  pupils  in  it  from  India,  from 
Smyrna,  from  South  America,  Mexico,  and  New  York.  I 
heard  a tramping  in  the  street  last  evening,  and,  looking 
out  of  my  window,  saw  a host  of  boys  marching  by.  I 
learned,  by  inquiry,  that  they  were  a school  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty,  making  a pedestrian  tour  through  a part  of 
their  native  country,  Switzerland.  Accompanied  by  their 
teachers,  they  thus  walk  day  after  day,  getting  health  and 
knowledge  and  fun,  for  they  make  play  of  it  as  they  go. 
Early  this  morning  I was  awakened  by  hearing  them 
again.  They  had  been  lodged,  how  I know  not,  at  the 
inns  in  the  village,  and  now  at  three  o’clock,  a.m.  (for  I 
looked  at  my  watch),  they  were  up  and  off.  Just  then  they 
struck  up  one  of  their  merry  songs,  and  serenaded  the 
sleeping  villagers  as  they  took  their  leave.  And  even  now, 
while  I am  writing  these  lines,  I am  called  to  the  window 
to  look  out  again,  and  here  is  a large  school  of  girls,  some 


SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


223 


of  them  small,  and  others  young  ladies  grown,  making  a 
pedestrian  tour.  Both  of  these  companies  are  three  or  four 
days’  journey  from  their  homes.  They  will  be  absent, 
perhaps,  a week  or  a fortnight.  And  they  will  be  wiser, 
healthier,  and  happier  for  the  little  tour. 

I mention  these  pleasant  incidents  to  show  the  interest 
which  teachers,  parents,  and  pupils  must  take  in  the  busi- 
ness of  education,  when  the  school  is  thus  made  a part  of 
the  pleasure,  as  well  as  the  labor,  of  the  young.  Nor  is  the 
moral  culture  of  the  young  neglected.  Far,  very  far  from 
it.  These  schools  are  not  godless  schools.  Religious  in- 
struction is  not  legislated  out  of  education  in  this  country. 
In  this  canton  they  are  nearly  all  Protestants.  But  in  St. 
Gall,  where  they  are  nearly  equally  divided,  the  Romanists 
have  their  own  schools,  and  the  Protestants  have  theirs, 
both  supported  by  the  same  system,  and  working  harmoni- 
ously, so  far  as  any  co-operation  is  required,  but  kept 
distinct  in  the  matter  of  instruction. 

If  the  treatment  of  women,  of  the  higher  or  lower  order 
of  creation,  is  a fair  test  of  the  civilization  of  a country, 
this  Switzerland  will  rank  very  low.  Good  roads  are  con- 
sidered an  evidence  of  a high  standard  of  civilization,  and 
very  justly;  yet  there  must  be  some  exceptions,  for  here 
in  Switzerland,  where  they  harness  the  cows  and  make 
them  draw  heavy  loads,  the'  roads  are  first-rate,  smooth  as 
a floor,  and  solid  in  all  weathers. 

Probably  this  glorious  land  that  I am  now  rejoicing  in, 
can  find  some  excuse  for  the  sin  and  shame  of  making  the 
cows  and  women  do  so  much  of  the  hard  and  heavy  work ; 
and  they  may  pretend  that  the  women  like  it,  and  the  cows 
are  all  the  better  for  it.  But  it  strikes  me  that  nature  has 
required  certain  duties  of  the  gentler  sex,  that  are  so 
incompatible  with  the  severer  labors  of  the  country,  that 
they  may  be  fairly  excused  from  a service  that  requires  the 


224 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


greater  strength  which  God  has  given  to  men  and  oxen. 
In  the  beautiful  city  of  Zurich,  the  most  enlightened,  culti- 
vated, and  refined  city  in  the  interior  of  Switzerland,  where 
the  most  learned  of  her  sons  are  educated,  the  city  of 
Zuingle  and  Lavater  and  Pestalozzi,  — and  that  boasts  a 
monument  to  Nagel,  a university,  and  polytechnic  institute, 
— in  that  fair  city  I met  a team,  composed  of  a horse  and 
cow,  harnessed  side  by  side,  drawing  a heavy  load,  the 
driver  walking  by  the  side  of  the  cow,  whose  side  was  in 
welts,  raised  by  the  stout  whip  which  he  carried,  and  used 
mainly  on  her  to  make  her  keep  up  with  the  horse.  It  is 
more  common  still  to  see  a single  cow  in  harness  drawing  a 
load,  and  a yoke  of  oxen  is  a sight  that  I have  very  rarely 
seen  in  travelling  here.  Whether  the  males  are  more  gener- 
ally sold  for  beef  or  not  I cannot  learn  ; but  it  does  not 
appear  to  any  one  here  that  it  is  out  of  the  way  to  make 
this  use  of  the  cows.  And  I was  rather  pleased  than  other- 
wise, in  conversation  with  a great  and  good  philanthropist 
and  reformer,  to  find  that  he  professed  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  cows  were  put  to  such  service,  and  when  I 
assured  him  that  I saw  one  in  harness  going  by  his  door 
that  day,  he  said  it  must  have  been  an  ox ! 

And  to  understand  why  it  is  that  women  work  so  much  in 
the  fields,  we  must  see  what  is  the  principal  employment  of 
the  people.  I have  seen  forty  women  at  work  in  the  same  field 
here,  and  not  a man  among  them.  No  sort  of  work  on  the 
farm  is  considered  too  heavy  for  the  women.  How  could  it 
be,  when  at  Boulogne  we  had  crossed  the  British  Channel, 
and  landed  in  France,  women  rushed  on  board  the  steamer 
to  carry  our  baggage  ashore  ! And  here  the  women  dig 
the  fields,  when  a plough  would  do  the  work  far  better  and 
more  quickly.  They  carry  out  manure,  or  drive  a cow  that 
drags  a load  of  it,  and  spread  it  on  the  soil.  They  mow. 
They  rake  and  pitch  hay.  They  plant  and  sow,  and  reap 


SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


225 


and  pull,  and  manage  the  farm  as  they  would  do  if  the  men 
were  all  off  at  war.  And  where  are  the  men  ? 

They  are  not  idle,  nor  dissipated,  nor  away  from  home. 
They  are  at  work,  and  in  the  house,  not-  tending  the  baby, 
nor  baking  the  bread,  nor  washing  the  clothes  ; but  they 
are  industrious,  and  what  are  they  at  ? The  Swiss  are  a 
frugal,  saving,  thriving  people.  The  amount  of  arable  land 
is  not  enough  to  meet  their  wants.  They  are  a manufac- 
turing, not  an  agricultural  people,  though  they  export  cattle, 
butter,  and  cheese.  Watches,  jewelry,  muslins,  embroidery, 
and  carved  wood-work,  are  the  principal  articles  of  manu- 
facture for  export,  and  these,  with  a few  other  branches, 
employ  the  most  of  the  men ; for  the  work  is  done  in  the 
country  very  largely.  The  city  of  Geneva  sells  75,000 
watches  yearly  ; but  as  you  are  riding  in  a diligence  among 
the  mountains,  a man  will  step  out  from  a little  cottage  and 
hand  a neat,  small  package  to  the  postilion,  who  puts  it 
carefully  into  a place  prepared  for  such  deposits.  It  is  the 
works  of  watches,  or  some  jewelry,  which  the  man  has 
made  in  his  own  house,  and  is  now  sending  to  his  em- 
ployer in  Geneva.  In  the  retired  village  where  I am  now 
writing,  so  secluded  that  if  a man  should  commit  a murder 
and  come  here  to  live,  the  New  York  detectives  would 
never  find  him,  even  here  the  cellars  of  small  houses  are 
filled  with  machinery  to  weave  Swiss  muslins,  and  to 
embroider  it  exquisitely.  The  buyers  from  the  Broadway 
stores  have  learned  where  to  come,  and  boxes  are  lying  in 
front  of  my  window  directed  to  Stewart,  and  to  Arnold  and 
others  in  New  York.  The  places  where  this  delicate  work 
is  done  are  damp  and  unhealthy ; but  unless  it  is  done  in  a 
damp  room  the  gossamer  thread  becomes  so  brittle  that  it 
breaks  in  weaving. 

And  all  through  the  mountainous  parts  the  carving  of 
wood  is  the  great  business  of  the  people.  Saw-mills  are  run 

15 


226 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


to  cut  up  the  trees  to  be  made  into  ornamental  articles  for 
sale,  and  these  extend  from  mantel  clock  cases  worth 
$1,000  to  some  gimcrack  not  worth  a cent.  The  centre 
tables  and  chairs,  the  game  pieces  and  desks,  knives  and 
v forks,  and  whatnots,  are  far  too  numerous  to  mention  ; but 
they  display  a degree  of  skill  and  taste  in  execution  that 
would  do  no  discredit  to  Greece  or  Italy  in  the  days  when 
sculpture  was  their  glory.  And  all  this  mechanical  work 
is  done  by  men,  and  men  only. 

The  tendency  of  things  is  always  to  extremes,  and  here 
in  the  working-classes,  and  nearly  all  are  in  those  classes 
in  Switzerland,  the  men  have  pushed  the  women  too  largely 
out  of  doors,  usurping  employments  that  women  might 
follow  with  success,  while  the  men  should  take  upon  them- 
selves the  labors  that  are  too  heavy  for  their  wives.  But 
Switzerland  itself  is  an  exceptional  country.  It  has  no  fair 
chance  in  the  world  as  a nation ; and  so  large  a part  of  its 
surface  is  impracticable  for  the  use  of  man,  and  it  has  be- 
come so  great  a resort  for  foreign  tourists,  they  are  ex- 
pected to  spend  all  the  money  they  can  afford  in  the  works 
of  art  which  the  natives  produce. 

Walking  out  with  a young  German  friend,  who  did  not 
understand  a word  of  the  English  language,  I saw  at  a 
little  distance  an  enclosure,  neat  gravel  walks  and  shrub- 
bery, with  flowers  showing  through  the  iron  railing  that 
surrounded  it.  I asked  what  the  enclosure  was,  and  the 
answer,  in  German,  struck  me  pleasingly : “ Gottesacker.” 

I had  never  heard  the  word  for  graveyard  before  in  Ger- 
man, though  the  English  of  it,  “ God’s  Acre,”  is  familiar, 
and  has  often  been  the  theme  of  poetry  and  prose.  Gottes 
Acker  is  the  acre  or  piece  of  ground  that  belongs  not  to 
man  of  all  the  land  in  the  earth  that  he  claims  as  his  own, 
but  is  the  Lord’s.  And  why  is  it  his  ? The  earth  is  the 
Lord’s,  and  the  fulness.  The  mountains  and  the  valleys, 


SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


227 


the  plains  also,  and  all  that  are  therein.  Why  is  this  small 
enclosure,  a petty  piece  of  ground  in  the  midst  of  a wide, 
magnificent  domain,  alone  called  God’s  ? 

Yes,  it  is  his,  because  all  who  inhabit  this  place  have 
gone  to  him.  We  walked  into  the  sacred  enclosure,  for 
the  gate  was  open,  inviting  the  passer-by  to  come  in.  The 
paths  were  neatly  gravelled,  and  the  plots  surrounded  with 
flowering  shrubs,  and  the  graves  not  raised  above  the  ground 
as  ours  often  are,  but  levelled,  and  each  grave  bordered  with 
boxwood  and  planted  with  flowers.  Few  were  marked 
with  a headstone,  but  most  of  them  had  a staff  set  up  in 
form  of  a cross,  and  on  it  a plate  with  a brief  inscription. 
The  centre  of  the  graveyard  was  laid  off  in  a circle,  planted 
with  trees  and  furnished  with  seats,  where  friends  could 
sit  in  the  shade,  and  meditate  among  the  graves  of  departed 
friends. 

“ And  is  Gottesacker  the  only  word  for  this  place  in  your 
German  tongue  ? ” I asked. 

“ It  is  also  called  Friedhof.” 

Fried  means  peace,  and  Hof  is  the  yard  or  a court  of  a 
house,  and  Friedhof  is  “the  Court  of  Peace.”  This  was 
another  beautiful  and  fitting  name.  It  speaks  for  itself, 
and  sweetly  expresses  the  feeling  of  this  place.  It  is 
peace,  all  peace  here.  The  battles  of  life  are  fought,  and 
there  is  no  strife  in  this  court  of  peace.  The  struggles, 
cares,  anxieties,  rivalries,  jealousies,  fears,  all  that  disquiet, 
harass,  fret,  and  annoy,  all,  all  are  buried  here.  The  tramp 
of  a million  men  in  arms  awakens  no  sleeper  here.  The 
church  itself  may  be  rent  and  torn  and  shaken  to  its  base, 
but  its  members  in  this  court  of  peace  are  not  distressed. 
These  hearts  that  once  panted,  burned,  and  bled  in  the  race, 
the  stripes  and  sorrows  of  the  world,  are  all  at  peace  now. 
Blessed  is  the  rest  that  cannot  be  broken  till  the  trumpet 
calls. 


228 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


“ That  is  a beautiful  word,”  I said  ; “ and  does  your  lan- 
guage furnish  any  other  than  these  two,  Gottesacker  and 
Friedhof.” 

“Yes,  we  sometimes  speak  of  it  as  Todtengarten.” 

The  Garden  of  the  Dead  ! And  so  they  plant  flowers 
among  the  graves,  and  along  the  walks,  and  make  the  rural 
village  graveyard  an  attractive,  not  a repulsive  spot,  a gar- 
den where  friends,  members  of  the  same  family,  are  at  rest. 
Jesus  was  laid  in  a garden  when  he  was  dead.  His  mem- 
bers slept  with  him,  and  will  blossom  in  the  Paradise  above, 
where  the  flowers  never  fade. 

Long  before  Abraham  asked  a burying-place  to  put  his 
dead  out  of  sight,  the  living  had  their  funeral  rites  and 
ceremonies.  And  it  is  wonderful  how  widely  they  differ, 
in  different  parts  of  the  world.  There  is,  doubtless,  a great 
difference  in  the  customs  of  the  various  cantons  of  Switzer- 
land, for  though  the  whole  twenty-two  of  them  would  not 
make  a state  larger  than  New  Jersey,  they  have  a costume , 
or  dress,  peculiar  to  each,  and  many  of  their  habits  are 
equally  singular.  If  the  weather  will  permit,  it  is  customary 
here  to  defer  the  funeral  until  Sunday,  even  if  the  person  dies 
on  Monday ; and  thus  it  often  occurs  that  there  are  two  or 
three  on  the  same  day,  and  sometimes  more.  In  a pop- 
ulation of  three  thousand,  all  belonging  to  one  church,  and 
the  funerals  being  held  in  it,  the  number  is  frequently  more 
than  one  or  two  at  the  same  hour.  The  average  number 
of  deaths  is  about  ninety  in  a year.  Last  Sunday  there 
were  three  funerals  here.  The  friends  of  the  several 
deceased  met  in  front  of  the  respective  houses  where  the 
dead  were  lying.  None  but  the  relatives  enter  the  house. 
The  three  funerals  were  to  be  attended  at  the  village  church, 
and  all  at  the  same  hour,  as  early  as  nine  in  the  morning. 
The  body  is  placed  in  a plain  deal  coffin,  sometimes,  but 
rarely,  painted.  And  the  custom  of  the  country  forbids 


SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


229 


the  rich  to  have  a coffin  more  elegant  than  the  poor ; the 
idea  being  that  death  abolishes  all  distinctions,  and  a plain 
coffin  is  good  enough  to  be  hid  away  in  the  ground.  At 
the  hour,  the  coffin  with  the  dead  is  brought  out  of  the 
house,  and  on  a bier  is  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  the  near- 
est male  relatives  or  friends.  One  of  these  funerals  was 
that  of  an  aged  mother.  She  left  eight  sons  and  two 
daughters ; six  of  the  sons  were  grown  men,  and  they  bore 
their  mother  on  their  shoulders  to  the  grave.  The  three 
processions  met  near  the  church,  and  the  three  coffins  were 
then  borne  in  the  order  of  the  ages  of  the  deceased,  to  the 
church,  but  not  into  it.  The  body  is  never  taken  into  the 
church.  But  when  the  relatives  and  friends  have  entered, 
the  body  is  carried  by  the  bearers  immediately  into  the 
Gottesacker,  God’s  Acre,  the  graveyard,  which  usually 
adjoins  the  church.  It  is  there  buried,  while  none  are 
present  except  those  who  do  the  work.  I stood  at  a little 
distance  while  this  melancholy  service  was  performed.  It 
was  not  pleasing  to  me  that  the  dead  should  be  thus  put 
away  unwept.  And  another  custom  was  equally  unpleasant 
to  me.  The  graves  are  arranged  in  regular  order,  without 
any  distinction  of  families,  and  as  each  person  in  the  place 
dies,  he  is  buried  in  the  grave  next  to  the  one  who  was 
buried  before  him.  It  may  have  been  a neighbor  with 
whom  he  was  at  enmity,  but  now  in  death  they  sleep  side 
by  side,  and  know  it  not.  Families  are  separated  by  the 
grave,  as  well  as  by  death,  and  no  two  of  them,  unless  they 
die  together,  may  be  laid  together  in  the  grave.  This  is 
surprising  when  we  notice  the  remarkable  attention  they 
bestow  on  the  Garden  of  the  Dead.  For  when  the  dead 
are  buried,  the  friends  come,  day  after  day,  and  adorn  the 
grave  with  flowers,  and  surround  it  with  a border  of  green, 
and  water  it  with  their  tears  of  love. 

While  the  body  is  thus  cared  for  by  the  bearers,  the 


230 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


funeral  service  is  proceeding  in  the  church.  This  is  sim- 
ilar to  the  service  in  our  own  country,  the  prayers  and 
selections  of  Scripture  being  read,  and  a sermon  preached, 
the  same  discourse  answering,  of  course,  for  all  who  are 
buried  on  the  same  day.  At  the  funeral,  all  the  men  in 
attendance  wear  a black  mantle,  of  bombazine  or  serge, 
which  they  may  get,  for  a trifle,  of  the  undertaker,  who 
keeps  them  for  hire.  Persons  of  property  have  them  of 
their  own,  to  wear  only  on  funeral  occasious,  but  the  most 
of  the  people  hire  them  when  wanted,  and  thus  every  man 
at  the  funeral  appears  as  a mourner.  All  the  women  dress 
in  black  when  attending  a funeral,  and  they  never  go  to 
church  in  any  other  than  a black  dress.  This  is  a very 
peculiar  custom,  but  is  invariably  followed  by  all  the  peo- 
ple of  this  country.  Not  a light-colored  dress  appears  in 
the  great  congregation  on  the  Sabbath-day,  or  at  a funeral. 

If  I have  not  already  spoken  to  you  of  the  cultivation, 
refinement,  and  manners  of  the  intelligent,  wealthy,  and 
“ upper  ” classes  of  the  people,  I say  that  a very  erroneous 
and  unjust  opinion  has  been  formed  on  this  point,  by  trav- 
ellers whose  observations  have  been  confined  to  hotels  and 
highways,  their  only  intercourse  with  men  who  make  it 
their  business  to  get  as  much  as  possible  out  of  all  who 
fall  into  their  hands.  It  has  been  my  pleasure  this  summer 
to  meet  in  social  life  among  the  Swiss  some  of  the  pleas- 
antest, most  intelligent,  and  agreeable  women  and  men  that 
will  be  found  in  any  country.  Their  manners  and  minds, 
as  well  as  their  persons,  would  grace  any  assembly,  and 
they  appeared  to  be  only  the  fitting  representatives  of  the 
best  circles  of  society  in  this  remarkable  land.  They  admire 
their  own  country.  Patriotism  burns  as  brightly  among 
these  mountains  as  on  our  own  shores.  And  when  it  was 
mentioned  that  I might  write  a book  on  Switzerland,  a 
beautiful  and  accomplished  lady  bade  me  be  careful,  or  she 


SWISS  CUSTOMS. 


231 


would  make  another  and  set  me  right  if  I failed  to  do  jus- 
tice to  her  beloved  Switzerland.  I could  only  say  to  her, 
in  reply,  that  the  threat  was  a temptation  to  error.  But 
any  one  who  becomes  familiar  with  the  inner  life  of  this 
people,  will  find  as  much  to  admire  and  esteem  as  in  any 
European  country. 


232 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GERMAN  WATERING-PLACES  — BINGEN  ON  THE  RHINE. 


GERMAN  watering-place,  with  its  nauseous  springs, 


its  inviting  groves  and  garden  and  shady  walks  and 
rustic  seats  and  bowers,  its  conversation  house,  and  sweet, 
clean  beds  and  airy  rooms  and  quiet  halls,  was  in  our  way, 
and  a Sabbath  was  just  ahead  of  us.  So  we  would  rest 
there  according  to  the  commandment. 

I have  been  left  alone,  or  with  my  little  party  only,  in  a 
wayside  inn,  among  the  Swiss  valleys,  and  have  seen  troops 
of  travellers,  some  of  them  with  white  cravats  and  straight 
coat  collars,  go  on  their  way  of  a bright,  glad,  summer 
Sabbath  morning,  when  it  seemed  to  me  the  mountains 
looked  down  with  a divine  benediction  and  invited  us  to  sit 
all  day  under  their  shadows  and  worship  toward  the  holy 
hill  of  Zion.  And  a Sabbath  in  a wilderness,  alone,  is  well 
spent,  if  the  soul  is  at  peace,  and  the  wearied  limbs  of  a 
pilgrim  are  suffered  also  to  have  rest. 

If  a land  impregnated  with  salt  is  cursed,  this  region 
ought  to  be  barren ; but  it  is  not.  It  is  a rich,  pictu- 
resque, rolling  country,  and  a beautiful  river  flows  through 
its  waving  harvest-fields,  just  now  white  for  the  sickle. 
Sometimes  a bold  cliff  stands  majestically  on  the  river- 
side, and  an  old  feudal  castle  hangs  on  the  summit,  where 
once  the  lord  of  the  domain  held  high  revel  and  strong  rule, 
a robber  on  land  and  a pirate  on  the  river  he  would  be 
called  now,  since  his  race  has  run  out,  and  kings  who  do 
the  same  things  that  he  did  are  reckoned  as  the  lawful 


GERMAN  WATERING-PLACES. 


233 


plunderers  as  well  as  rulers  of  the  people.  So  the  robber 
told  Alexander,  and  the  king  couldn’t  see  it,  but  it  was  true 
nevertheless. 

They  make  salt  curiously  in  these  parts.  The  water  is 
pumped  up  from  springs  or  wells  into  troughs,  which  are 
raised  on  scaffolding  thirty  or  more  feet  high  ; and  below 
these  troughs  a solid  mass  of  brush  is  piled,  a wall  some 
ten  feet  thick,  standing  on  a reservoir ; this  brush  wall 
reaches  hundreds  and  thousands  of  feet  along,  according 
to  the  extent  of  the  works  employed.  The  pumps  are 
moved  by  water-power,  and  slowly  and  steadily,  cease- 
lessly, day  and  night,  they  raise  the  water  into  the  troughs 
above,  through  which  it  trickles  upon  this  brush  and  drops 
down,  down,  down  into  the  basins  below  ; this  exposes  the 
water  to  the  action  of  the  air  and  rapidly  evaporates  it ; 
so  that  what  runs  through  the  heap  and  finally  reaches  the 
reservoir  below  is  exceedingly  strong,  and  by  completing 
the  process  with  boiling  is  readily  converted  into  salt. 

The  vicinity  of  these  works  is  a healthful  resort  for  in- 
valids, who  find  the  atmosphere  more  highly  charged  with 
saline  particles  than  the  shores  of  the  sea  itself.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  the  mighty  wall  of  wood  are  boarding- 
houses, as  at  the  sea-shore,  and  in  the  pleasant,  shady  side 
the  ladies  sit  with  their  needle-work  or  books  in  hand, 
inhaling  the  invigorating  air,  and  enjoying  the  quietest, 
coolest,  and  most  bracing  climate  in  hot  weather,  and  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  fashionable  world.  On  the  bank  of  the 
river  we  found  a place  to  stay,  and  from  it  made  excursions 
into  the  regions  beyond.  A rock,  rising  one  thousand  feet 
perpendicularly  from  the  water,  held  on  its  giddy  summit 
the  tottering  remnants  of  the  fortress  of  one  of  the  petty 
tyrants  of  the  olden  time,  and  a circuit  of  five  or  six  miles, 
in  a broiling  day,  brought  us  by  a path  that  no  wheels  can 
traverse  to  the  height.  Tradition  tells  of  the  last  of  the 
barons  who  held  his  court  in  these  walls ; how  his  daughter 


234 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


was  loved  and  wooed  by  his  rival  chieftain,  whose  castle  still 
stands  erect  across  the  river  a few  miles  below  and  in  full 
view  of  this ; how  the  “ cruel  father  ” refused  to  give  his 
daughter  to  his  foe,  and  the  lover  lured  her  by  the  arts  of 
love  to  aid  him  in  his  daring  scheme  to  capture  her  father’s 
castle  and  compel  him  to  surrender  her  in  exchange  for  his 
liberty  and  his  home ; how  the  stratagem  succeeded,  and 
the  circumvented  parent  threw  himself  headlong  from  the 
rampart  into  the  frightful  abyss,  and  the  lovers,  after  de- 
stroying the  stronghold,  removed  to  their  castle  below,  and 
became  the  ancestors  of  a distinguished  family  of  an  unpro- 
nounceable German  name.  All  this  tradition  tells,  and  to 
write  it  all  out  would  be  perhaps  worth  the  while  of  some 
one  who  has  nothing  better  to  do. 

Our  next  stopping-place  was  Homburg,  one  of  the  more 
modern,  but  the  most  brilliant  of  the  watering-places  in 
Europe.  Like  some  of  our  own  cities,  it  has  rapidly  rushed 
into  notoriety  ; that  is  just  the  word  for  the  reputation  it  has 
made  for  itself,  and  by  which  it  has  made  its  fortunes  and 
ruined  the  fortunes  of  thousands  who  have  sought  its 
hospitalities. 

A very  few  years  ago  a wide  waste  of  marshy  meadows, 
swamps  we  would  call  them,  lay  around  and  over  the  spot 
that  now  gathers  and  holds  for  the  season  the  fashion  and 
style  and  rank  of  the  gayest  European  capitals,  — the  largest 
and  most  distinguished  circle  of  “ the  upper  classes  ” to  be 
found  at  any  fashionable  resort  in  the  world.  It  is  a city  of 
hotels,  and  these  on  a scale  of  elegance  that  is  not  sur- 
passed. But  between  these  hotels  and  the  waters  of  health 
that  first  drew  the  crowds  hither,  are  these  original  mea- 
dows, now  covered  with  young  woods,  and  intersected  by 
numberless  walks  and  drives,  in  which  a stranger  might 
easily  be  lost,  and  left  to  wander  hours  and  hours  without 
finding  his  way  out.  Beyond  these  shaded  groves  we  come 
to  the  springs,  several,  with  various  properties,  very  kindly 


GERMAN  WATERING-PLACES. 


235 


arranged  to  meet  the  many  maladies  of  man,  and  all  of 
them  sufficiently  disagreeable  to  be  medicinal.  Neatness, 
order,  elegance  reign  everywhere.  Around  the  springs, 
through  the  avenues  overhung  with  venerable  trees,  along 
the  rows  of  beautiful  lodging-houses  and  residences  of 
those  who  permanently  pass  the  summer  here,  the  quiet- 
ness of  private  life  rests  with  a grace  and  charm  quite  rare 
in  a great  watering-place.  This  gives  to  Homburg  such  an 
attraction  that  thousands  of  the  quietest  class  of  people  in 
the  world  love  to  come  here  for  refreshment  and  repose. 
They  need  not  go  into  the  Kursaal,  though  that  word 
means  cure-hall  or  cure-house.  I would  call  it  Kursaal,  or 
curse-all,  because  it  is  the  curse  of  all  who  are  drawn  into 
its  vortex. 

It  is  a palace.  In  its  extent,  its  proportions,  and  appoint- 
ments, it  is  fit  for  a royal  residence,  all  the  arts  of  orna- 
mentation being  exhausted  to  make  it  a splendid  temple  of 
pleasure,  instead  of  a hospital  or  asylum  for  the  sick  and 
suffering.  This  palace,  with  its  broad  piazzas  looking  upon 
beautiful  gardens,  where  elegant  women  are  sitting  under 
the  shade,  with  their  books  or  fancy  needle-work,  while  a 
German  band  fills  the  soft  and  fragrant  atmosphere  with 
delicious  waves  of  music  ; this  palace,  with  its  concert- 
rooms  and  ball-rooms  and  reading-rooms,  filled  with  all 
the  choicest  periodicals  of  all  nations,  which  studious  old 
men  are  diligently  pondering  ; this  palace,  so  still,  so  beau- 
tiful, so  gorgeous  in  its  decorations,  and  so  well  fitted  to 
bear  the  inscription  which  Ptolemy  Soter  put  upon  his 
library  at  Alexandria,  “ The  Medicine  of  the  Soul,”  — this 
palace  was  also  the  great  gambling-house  in  Europe. 

A grand  saloon  that  stretches  across  the  house  holds  two 
long  fables,  around  which  are  seated  thirty  or  forty  men 
and  women,  intent,  silent,  more  statue  than  life-like.  With 
your  eyes  closed  you  would  scarcely  be  conscious  that  any 
one  was  in  the  room.  The  clicking  of  gold  and  silver  on 


236 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  table,  the  few  words  of  the  manager  as  he  decides  a 
point,  an  occasional  deep-drawn  sigh  as  pent-up  emotion 
finds  escape,  with  now  and  then  an  involuntary  exclamation, 
evidently  out  of  order  and  quite  disagreeable  to  all  con- 
cerned,— these  are  the  only  interruptions  to  the  solemn, 
painful  stillness  of  the  Homburg  gaming-table.  I have 
heard  that  something  more  startling  than  an  oath  or  a 
groan  sometimes  has  interrupted  the  current  of  the  play, 
and  that  a gambler,  in  a paroxysm  of  rage  and  despair,  has 
blown  out  his  brains  at  the  table.  But  such  incidents  are 
not  of  every-day  occurrence.  Besides,  people  who  play 
here  have  not  many  brains  to  blow  out.  They  are  not 
insane.  But  as  a class,  they  are  below  the  average  of  the 
human  family  in  intellectual  force,  because  they  stake  their 
money  with  the  knowledge  that  the  chances  are  not  even, 
are  always  against  them,  and  in  favor  of  the  bank,  or 
managers  of  the  table.  In  playing  roulette , or  rouge  et  noir , 
the  two  games  which  are  constantly  going  on,  a bystander 
sees  that  the  taker  draws  in  more  than  he  shoves  out,  and 
that  the  tendency  of  things  is  steadily  in  favor  of  the  bank, 
while  chance  favors  the  victims  just  often  enough  to  keep  up 
the  hope  that  they  will  make  a grand  hit  by  and  by  and  make 
up  all  their  losses.  Yet  the  game  is  so  transparently  in  the 
hands  of  the  managers,  that  one  wonders  any  one  can  be 
so  big  a fool  as  to  lose  all  his  money  in  such  hopeless  ven- 
tures. The  bank  sets  up  a certain  amount  of  money  every 
day,  as  the  capital  for  that  day,  and  stories  are  told  of  some 
heavy  gambler  now  and  then  breaking  the  bank,  but  that 
means  only  that  by  a fortunate  run  he  has  cleaned  out  what 
was  set  up  for  the  time,  and  to-morrow  it  is  all  right  again 
with  the  same  or  a larger  capital.  But  these  stories  are 
mostly  fictitious,  set  afloat  by  the  bank  itself,  which,  by 
pretending  to  be  broken , encourages  the  idea  that  it  is  just 
as  apt  to  lose  money  as  those  who  are  playing  against  it. 

Some  of  these  people  are  historic  characters.  One  of 


GERMAN  WATERING-PLACES. 


237 


them  here  now  is  the  brother  of  the  Viceroy  of  Egypt, 
and  he  plays  heavily,  but  stops  when  he  has  had  excite- 
ment enough.  A fatalist  by  profession,  he  takes  his  chances 
as  decrees,  and  consoles  himself  with  other  pleasures  when 
these  go  against  him.  A German  princess,  who  is  the 
model  of  all  the  virtues  at  home,  gratifies  a darling  passion 
during  the  summer  months  by  wasting  half  her  income  in 
this  gambling-house.  American  travellers  are  the  most 
cautious  of  all  the  company ; but  now  and  then  a dissipated 
youngster  takes  a plunge  into  swifter  ruin  in  the  waters  of 
this  terrible  stream.  Most  pitiable  it  is  to  see  fair  women, 
and  sometimes  women  that  are  known  to  be  exemplary  in 
society  beyond  the  sea,  trying  it  just  once,  tempting  luck  ; 
and  if  they  lose  they  usually  stop  after  the  first  loss,  but  if 
they  win  they  try  again,  and  so  on,  until  they  lose  all  they 
have  about  them  and  can  borrow  of  their  friends. 

A few  hours’  ride  across  the  country  brought  us  to 
Kreusnach.  The  name  of  this  watering-place  had  never 
reached  me  before,  and  it  added  one  more  to  the  many 
springs  or  spas  with  which  Germany  abounds.  An  army  of 
servants  rushed  out  to  the  carriage,  as  we  drew  up  to  the 
door  of  the  Hotel  Hollande,  and  in  good  English  proffered 
their  services  to  take  us  and  our  luggage  in.  The  luggage 
we  leave  on  the  carriage  until  the  rooms  and  the  terms  are 
found  agreeable,  and  as  we  could  have  a handsome  parlor 
and  bedroom  adjoining,  on  the  front  of  the  house,  second 
floor,  for  one  thaler,  or  six  francs  ($1.20)  a day,  we  were 
not  long  in  deciding  that  this  was  the  place  to  stay  in. 

The  salt  springs  of  this  region  have  long  been  known, 
but  only  of  late  have  the  wonderful  medicinal  properties  of 
the  waters  been  understood.  Now  some  sixty  thousand 
persons  come  here  annually,  and  the  number  is  increasing. 
The  people,  waking  up  to  the  idea  that  they  have  a foun- 
tain of  wealth  as  well  as  of  health  in  the  bubbling  spring, 
have  erected  a cure-house  on  an  island  in  the  river  Nahe, 


238 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


and  hotels  and  lodging-houses  have  sprung  up  along  the 
stream ; a regimen  has  been  prescribed,  by  which  the 
greatest  good  of  the  healing  waters  may  be  had,  but  it  is 
left  to  the  choice  of  the  visitor  whether  he  will  follow  the 
rules  or  disobey  them,  and  go  away  no  better  than  he  came. 

At  Kissingen  it  is  not  so.  In  that  delightful  little  town, 
where  royal  blood  comes  to  be  purified,  and  nobles  as  well 
as  commons  gather  in  great  numbers  every  year,  they  are 
so  jealous  of  the  honor  of  their  waters,  that  no  visitor  is 
permitted  to  tarry  in  the  place  who  will  not  comply  with 
the  rules  of  eating  and  drinking  and  bodily  exercise  which 
are  prescribed  by  the  medical  authorities.  These  rules  are 
simple  and  wholesome,  and  it  will  do  you  good  to  take  the 
course,  but  if  you  will  not,  they  take  their  course  with  you, 
which  is  to  send  you  out  of  town  forthwith,  lest  you  should 
lose  your  health  by  your  imprudence,  and  so  bring  dis- 
credit on  the  Kissingen  waters.  Fancy  such  a law  as  that 
at  Saratoga ! It  is  said  that  more  sick  people  go  away 
from  the  springs  than  come,  but  this  is  not  to  be  affirmed 
of  Kissingen,  beautiful  Kissingen,  the  cheapest  and  prettiest 
of  the  health-giving  spas  of  Germany.  A clergyman  in 
Paris  told  me  that  he  spends  a month  in  Kissingen  every 
summer,  fifty  dollars  paying  all  his  expenses,  — going,  stay- 
ing, and  coming  home ! 

Y ou  can  live  nearly,  — not  quite,  — as  cheaply  here  at 
Kreusnach.  The  band,  a fine  German  band,  discourses 
sweet  music  in  the  park  near  the  spring,  at  six  o’clock  in 
the  morning;  we  drink,  — faugh!  yes,  we  drink  the  salt 
and  horrid  water  and  return  to  breakfast  at  eight,  after  a 
promenade  in  the  groves ; at  eleven  a bath  is  to  be  taken 
in  the  hotel,  to  which  the  water  is  carried  in  barrels  and 
emptied  into  a reservoir,  from  which  it  is  led  into  the  baths  ; 
it  is  artificially  warmed  to  the  temperature  of  the  blood ; it 
is  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  the  strong,  boiled  salt 
water  that  remains  uncrystallized  at  the  salt-works  in  the 


GERMAN  WATERING-PLACES. 


239 


vicinity ; and  this  water,  sold  for  this  purpose,  brings  more 
money,  by  a third,  than  the  salt  itself.  This  drinking  and 
bathing  are  good  for  scrofulous  and  all  cutaneous  com- 
plaints ; for  bad  livers,  that  is,  for  those  whose  livers  are 
bad ; for  dyspeptics,  rheumatic  people,  and  all  kindred  ail- 
ments. Indeed,  these  German  springs  are  a pretty  sure 
cure  for  almost  any  of  the  ordinary,  perhaps  extraordinary, 
ills  of  the  flesh,  because  the  climate  is  good,  the  mountain 
air  is  bracing,  and  the  regimen  requires  a fair  amount  of 
temperance  and  exercise ; and  he  must  be  in  a very  bad 
way  who  will  not  get  well  under  the  simple,  exhilarating, 
purifying,  and  strengthening  influences  of  this  kind  of  life. 

Here  in  Kreusnach  we  meet  with  men  and  women  from 
the  most  distant  parts  of  the  Continent,  attracted  by  the 
fame  of  this  salt  water.  A Russian  gentleman  and  wife, 
with  an  infant  child,  on  whose  account  they  came,  had 
travelled  six  weeks  in  a sledge  to  St.  Petersburg.  Their 
children  had  died  of  scrofula,  and  they  brought  this  live 
one  over  that  vast  tract  of  country,  through  northern  cold, 
that  its  system  in  infancy  might  be  renovated  by  this 
modern  Bethesda.  The  Princess  of  Mecklenberg  is  here 
now,  and  last  Sunday  she  proposed  to  attend  the  English 
Church  service.  The  good  rector  heard  of  her  intention, 
and  thought  it  his  duty  to  call  and  pay  his  respects.  Un- 
happily he  could  not  speak  a word  of  German,  and  when  he 
attempted  to  introduce  himself  at  the  door  of  the  Princess’ 
lodgings*  the  servant  understood  him  to  be  the  postman, 
and  brought  him  the  letters  ready  to  go  to  the  post-office. 
His  call  was  only  deference  to  rank,  and  there  was  no  need 
of  it,  except  as  every  sinner  needs  a pastor’s  care,  and  the 
Princess  took  no  notice  of  it. 

At  a cell  in  the  hill-side  near  the  spring,  whey  is  dis- 
pensed to  those  who  daily  drink  it  for  the  whey-cure.  It 
has  a great  repute.  So  has  the  grape-cure  in  August  and 
September.  Either  of  them  is  just  as  good  as  the  salt- 


240 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


water-cure,  and  that  is  good  beyond  a doubt.  I have  great 
faith  in  any  kind  of  doctoring  that  includes  rest  from  busi- 
ness, with  moderate  eating  and  drinking,  and  plenty  of 
exercise  in  the  open  air.  Give  the  waters  the  credit  of  it, 
or  the  whey,  or  the  grapes,  or  the  doctors,  it  makes  no  dif- 
ference what  or  who  has  the  credit,  if  you  have  the  cure. 

But  stop  this  everlasting  rushing  after  the  world  that  is 
perishing,  and  wait  a little  while  at  Kreusnach,  or  Kissin- 
gen,  or  one  of  a dozen  places  I could  name.  Here  take 
your  ease.  Eat,  drink,  and  be  happy.  Bathe  your  weary 
limbs  in  these  youth-renewing  waters.  Walk  out  among 
these  surrounding  forests  and  hills.  There  stands  the 
ruined  Castle  of  Rheingraffenstein,  on  a crag  that  overhangs 
the  Nahe ; wind  your  way  up  one  side,  and  when  you  have 
rested  on  the  height,  pick  your  way  down  the  other  side  to 
a garden  on  the  banks  of  the  river ; there  refresh  again ; 
then  in  one  of  the  little  boats  be  rowed  down  to  Ebernburg, 
the  site  of  an  ancient  castle,  which  has  now  been  remodelled 
into  a hotel ; but  the  relics  of  Luther  and  other  Reformers 
who  once  were  sheltered  here  are  still  preserved,  as  well  as 
the  balls  with  which  the  French  blew  the  old  towers  off  the 
hill  into  the  waters  below.  Rusty  swords,  spears,  chains, 
and  old  keys  are  laid  in  heaps,  as  some  slight  index  of  the 
good  time  coming,  when  spears  and  swords  shall  be  turned 
into  ploughs  and  pruning-knives. 

Where  the  Nahe  flows  into  the  Rhine,  there  or  about 
there,  stands  Bingen,  and  no  amount  of  pretty  poetry  that 
has  been  said  or  sung  about  “ Bingen  on  the  Rhine  ” can 
make  it  any  thing  but  a dull,  dry,  flat,  dusty  village,  and 
horribly  disagreeable  at  noon  on  a scorching  hot  day,  such 
as  this.  We  footed  it  half  a mile  from  the  station  under  a 
blazing  sun,  as  there  was  no  way  to  ride,  and  found  a cool 
shade,  while  waiting  for  the  steamboat  to  come  up  the 
river.  The  sight  was  romantic  and  picturesque.  In  the 
water,  a little  way  above  us,  stand  the  ruins  of  Bishop 


BINGEN  ON  THE  RHINE. 


241 


Hatto’s  tower,  the  story  of  which  is  too  familiar  to  be  told 
again.  He  had  hoarded  corn  in  a time  of  famine,  and  the 
rats  pursued  him  for  his  wickedness.  He  fled  to  this 
tower  in  the  river.  The  rats  swam  out  to  it,  ran  up  the 
walls,  found  their  way  in,  and  cleaned  the  Bishop’s  bones 
for  him.  Southey  has  done  the  story  into  a ballad. 


On  the  Rhine. 

The  Castle  of  Ehrenfels  is  on  the  side  of  the  hill  across 
the  river,  and  the  Rudesheimer  vineyards  on  the  hill-sides 
furnish  that  celebrated  variety.  All  the  Rhine  wines  are 
named  from  the  castle,  chateau,  or  neighborhood  where 
they  are  made.  The  flavor  depends  more  on  the  soil  than 
on  the  art  with  which  the  wine  is  made.  The  process  is 
substantially  the  same  in  all  the  vineyards,  but  the  flavor  of 

1 6 


242 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  liquor  is  decidedly  different.  The  hill-sides  are  so 
steep,  and  the  rains  are  sometimes  so  heavy,  that  the  soil  is 
often  carried  down  into  the  bed  of  the  rivers.  It  can  then 
be  recovered  only  by  scooping  it  from  the  bottom,  and 
carrying  it  up  in  baskets.  This  is  done  every  year.  We 
might  fear  it  would  be  spoiled  by  being  carried  into  the 
river,  but  the  loss  of  strength  is  not  enough  to  alter  the 
nature  of  the  original.  Some  of  the  brands  are  famous,  and 
the  prices  vary  accordingly  ; but  the  cheapness  of  these 
wines  here  on  the  ground,  compared  with  New  York, 
makes  one  readily  believe  that  the  importation  of  wines 
must  be  among  the  most  money-making  of  all  kinds  of 
business.  Vinegar  and  water  is  quite  as  good  a drink  as 
much  of  this  wine,  and  a little  sugar  added  makes  it  better. 
Prince  Metternich  owns  the  famous  Johannisberg  vineyard, 
a little  farther  on,  of  seventy  acres,  of  which  many  and 
fabulous  tales  are  told  of  the  small  quantity  and  great 
prices  of  the  wine,  of  the  celebrated  men  who  have  owned 
the  vineyard,  and  how  very  costly  the  wine  becomes  by  age. 
But  I will  not  weary  you  with  them.  The  river  itself  is 
identified  with  the  history  of  Europe.  Taking  its  rise  in 
the  St.  Gothard  Pass  in  Switzerland,  it  receives  tributaries 
all  the  way  down,  yet  it  is  a small  and  comparatively  insig- 
nificant stream.  But  kings  have  often  fought  for  it,  and  it 
was  the  late  French  Emperor’s  highest  ambition  to  water 
his  horses  in  the  Rhine. 

The  art  of  printing  makes  Mayence  immortal,  and  here 
we  stopped  to  look  at  the  monument  to  Guttenberg,  its 
inventor,  a grand  statue  by  Thorvaldsen.  It  is  the  fate 
of  few  inventors  to  get  their  due  in  their  lifetime  ; some  of 
them  want  bread,  and  the  public  will  not  give  them  even  a 
stone  till  long  after  they  have  been  starved  to  death.  It 
was  the  fate  of  Guttenberg  to  struggle  hard  for  years 
against  rival  claimants  to  the  credit  and  the  profit  of  his 
invention,  and  so  incredulous  is  the  world  of  the  truth,  — 


BINGEN  ON  THE  RHINE. 


243 


though  ready  enough  to  believe  a lie, — that  his  existence 
wa,s  called  in  question,  and  his  name  has  been  pronounced 
a myth.  And  to  this  day  there  are  people  who  think  that 
Faust,  who  is  popularly  reported  to  be  the  — or  in  league 
with  the  — devil,  had  more  to  do  with  the  black  art  inven- 
tion than  Guttenberg.  They,  that  is  Guttenberg  and 
Faust,  were  in  partnership  for  a while,  but  that  was  long 
after  the  real  inventor  had  made  the  art  a success,  and  the 
claims  of  Faust  and  his  son-in-law  Schoffer,  both  of  whom 
were  willing  to  be  credited  with  the  invention,  have  now 
given  way  to  the  light  of  evidence,  and  Guttenberg  holds 
his  own  against  the  field.  It  is  in  legal  proof  that  as  early 
as  1438  Guttenberg  was  at  work  with  his  press  and  mov- 
able types.  In  1450  he  formed  a partnership  with  Faust 
to  carry  on  the  business  of  printing,  and  he  died  in  1468. 
In  a book  published  at  Mayence  in  1505,  Johan  Schoffer 
states  “ that  the  admirable  art  of  printing  was  invented  in 
Mentz  (Mayence),  in  1450,  by  the  ingenious  Johan  Gut- 
tenberg, and  was  subsequently  improved  and  handed  down 
to  posterity  by  the  capital  and  labor  of  Johan  Faust  and 
Peter  Schoffer.”  The  writer  of  this  was  the  son  of  Peter 
Schoffer.  He  is  mistaken  in  the  date,  for  it  is  easily 
proved  that  Guttenberg  was  printing  many  years  before 
1450,  which  was  the  date  not  of  the  invention,  but  of  his 
entering  into  partnership  with  Faust. 

As  I stood  in  front  of  this  monument  to  a man  whose 
genius  and  industry  gave  to  the  world  this  great  boon,  the 
statue  itself  appeared  to  be  sublimely  eloquent,  as  if  from 
those  lips,  representatives  of  the  lips  long  since  returned 
to  dust,  was  now  going  forth  the  streams  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge  and  power  that  make  up  the  rivers  of  happiness 
and  usefulness  in  the  art  of  printing  as  it  has  blessed  man- 
kind for  four  centuries,  and  will  continue  to  flow  with 
increasing  volume  to  the  end  of  time.  Perhaps  somebody 
else  would  have  invented  the  art  if  he  had  not.  It  may 


244 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


be  that  God  would  have  made  another  man  whose  brain 
would  be  the  womb  from  which  this  grand  invention  would 
have  sprung.  But  there  stands  the  man  who  first  began 
to  print  with  movable  types,  and  from  his  beginning  the 
work  has  gone  forward,  widening  in  its  reach  and  power, 
and  is  yet  only  in  the  infancy  of  its  career.  If  he  could 
have  anticipated  even  the  present  extent  of  its  influence, 
what  mighty  emotions  would  have  swelled  his  heart ! And 
as  I look  upon  this  image  of  him,  I feel  that  beyond  any 
other  mere  man  who  has  ever  lived  in  the  annals  of  time, 
he  is  entitled  to  stand  pre-eminent  as  the  benefactor  of  the 
human  race.  And  it  is  worth  remarking  that  scarcely  any 
art  has  made  so  little  real  improvement  for  the  last  three 
hundred  years,  as  the  art  of  type-making.  The  types  were 
as  clear  cut,  and  the  impression  just  as  perfect  then  as  now. 
We  do  work  faster  and  cheaper,  but  not  better. 

I walked  into  the  cathedral  and  fell  to  musing  among  the 
ruinous  tombs  ; a few  children  were  gathered  in  one  corner 
and  a priest  was  engaged  in  giving  them  instruction ; the 
setting  sun  was  lighting  up  the  colored  arches  and  naves 
of  red  sandstone,  giving  a peculiar  effect  to  the  shabby 
temple,  but  there  was  nothing  here  to  divert  my  thoughts 
from  the  statue,  the  man,  and  the  work  commemorated. 
It  was  glory  enough  for  one  city  to  have  been  the  birth- 
place of  such  an  art.  Pilgrims  will  come  hither  with  in- 
creasing reverence  in  far  distant  years.  And  I hope  they 
will  have  a cooler  day  than  I had.  The  mercury  is  now  at 
9 6 in  the  shade. 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.  245 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 


Aix-la-Chapelle. 


246 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


TT  is  now  nigh  upon  a thousand  years  since  King  Otto 
ordered  the  tomb  of  Charlemagne  to  be  opened.  The 
floor  of  the  cathedral  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  was  broken  up, 
the  sacred  mausoleum  that  cherished  the  remains  of  the 
mightiest  of  emperors  was  entered ; and  there  he  sat  in  the 
chamber  of  death,  as  in  a hall  of  state,  on  a marble  chair, 
in  the  vestments  of  his  imperial  office,  a sword  at  his  side, 
a crown  on  his  head,  and  a Bible  in  his  hand-! 

Charlemagne  was  born  in  this  place  in  the  year  742. 
The  cathedral  is  his  monument,  and  under  the  central  dome 
is  a slab  in  the  floor  with  the  simple  inscription,  “ Carolo 
Magno.”  The  cathedral  was  adorned  with  the  richest  mar- 
bles the  world  could  furnish,  and  the  highest  art  of  the  age 
was  lavished  in  its  structure  and  ornament.  The  windows 
reach  from  the  roof  nearly  to  the  ground,  and  with  their 
rich  decorations  give  a peculiar  beauty  to  the  interior.  The 
city  has  again  and  again  been  ravaged  by  enemies  ; other 
buildings  have  been  razed  to  their  foundations,  but  this  has 
steadily  stood  in  the  midst  of  war  and  fires  and  centuries 
of  decay  and  change.  Long  has  it  been  the  shrine  of 
Roman  worship,  for  Pope  Leo  consecrated  it  in  804 ; and 
thus,  a thousand  years  and  more,  it  has  been  gathering 
treasures  of  wealth,  of  association,  and  interest  It  is  now 
fhe  most  sacred  shrine  in  the  north,  and,  indeed,  it  is  not 
likely  that  any  spot  this  side  of  Rome  has  half  so  much  to 
excite  the  veneration  of  the  faithful. 

Perhaps  Rome  herself  has  not  more  holy  relics.  This  is 
a bold  supposition.  But  the  list  of  sacred  things  here  col- 
lected is  so  long  and  so  wonderful,  and  the  estimate  in 
which  they  are  held  is  so  high,  that  the  city  fairly  lays 
claims  to  the  first  rank  among  the  favored.  Therefore 
pilgrimages  are  made  to  these  shrines  as  to  the  Holy 
City  itself. 

My  pilgrimage  hither  was  accidental,  or,  rather,  providen- 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.  247 

tial.  As  I came  into  it  at  the  close  of  a summer’s  day,  the 
streets  were  thronged  with  men  and  women,  moving  up 
and  down,  apparently  without  an  object,, swaying  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea,  and  I asked  if  this  was  the  usual  crowd 
on  the'  streets  of  an  evening.  It  was  at  the  height  of  the 
season  for  visitors  to  its  famous  fountains  of  water  •;  for 
long  before  it  was  a shrine  for  pilgrims  coming  to  pray,  it 
was  known  for  its  mineral  springs  and  their  remarkable 
healing  virtues.  What  more  could  be  desired  than  a charm 
to  cure  diseases  both  of  the  bodies  and  the  souls  of  stran- 
gers. The  old  pagan  Romans  knew  the  efficacy  of  these 
waters  ; and  through  all  the  centuries,  since  their  rule,  the 
city  has  been  a fashionable  watering-place.  It  was  once 
the  seat  of  empire,  and  the  palace  of  Charlemagne,  whose 
name  invests  it  with  more  than  romantic  interest,  has  now 
passed  away.  Yet  the  city  is  frequented  annually  by  thou- 
sands from  distant  parts,  drawn  here  by  the  well-established 
reputation  of  the  springs.  It  was,  therefore,  natural  for  me 
to  ask  if  these  crowds  were  the  usual  concourse  of  people 
on  the  streets  of  a summer  evening. 

The  answer  to  my  inquiry  indicated  as  much  surprise  as 
the  disciples  exhibited  when  they  said,  “ Art  thou  only  a 
stranger  in  Jerusalem,  and  hast  not  known  the  things 
which  are  come  to  pass  there  in  these  days  ? ” 

I was  told  that  it  was  the  last  day  but  one  of  the  pilgrim- 
age to  the  holy  relics,  and  that  this  was  the  grand  eve  of  the 
procession,  the  most  remarkable  pageant  that  is  ever  to  be 
seen  in  these  parts  of  the  world.  Of  course  this  led  to 
further  inquiries,  and  I found  myself  suddenly  and  acci- 
dentally participating  in  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  spec- 
tacles that  I had  ever  seen  or  heard  of.  It  will  be  a long 
story,  but  you  must  read  it. 

How  the  many  precious  relics  came  to  be  collected  here 
I cannot  learn  ; but  the  antiquity  and  wealth  of  the  cathe- 
dral, and  the  vast  power  wielded  for  centuries  by  the 


248 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Catholic  emperors  who  were  here  crowned,  would  easily 
make  this  spot  the  nucleus  around  which  superstition  and 
faith  would  rally  all  their  strength.  So  it  came  to  pass  in 
the  lapse  of  time  that  the  number  and  value  of  the  offer- 
ings which  popes  and  kings  and  others  made  to  this  shrine 
became  immense,  and  no  money  would  now  be  considered 
an  equivalent  for  the  priceless  treasures.  Here  is  a list  of 
them,  to  be  read  with  all  the  faith  you  can  summon : — 

THE  RELICS  OF  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

A.  The  superior  relics, 

known  under  the  popular  name  of  the  “great  ” relics. 

1.  The  white  garment  of  the  mother  of  our  Lord. 

2.  The  swathing-clothes  of  our  Saviour. 

3.  The  cloth  in  which  was  laid  the  body  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  after 

his  decapitation. 

4.  The  cloth  which  our  Saviour  wore  around  his  loins  in  the  dread- 

ful hour  of  his  death. 

These  superior  relics  are  shown  every  seventh  year  only,  or  excep- 
tionally to  crowned  heads  on  their  special  demand. 

B.  The  inferior  relics  are 

5.  The  woven  linen  girdle  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  in  a reliquary 

(liburium). 

6.  The  girdle  (cingulum)  of  Jesus,  made  of  leather,  in  a precious 

vessel. 

7.  Part  of  the  rope  with  which  our  Saviour  was  tied  in  his  passion. 

8.  Joined  in  a reliquary  : 

a.  A fragment  of  the  sponge  that  served  to  refresh  our  dying 

Lord  upon  the  cross. 

b.  A particle  of  the  holy  cross. 

c.  Some  hair  of  the  Apostle  St.  Bartholomew. 

d.  Several  bones  of  Zachary,  father  to  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

e.  Two  teeth  of  the  Apostle  St.  Thomas. 

9.  In  a reliquary  : Part  of  an  arm  of  old  St.  Simeon,  and  in  a vial  of 

agate  some  oil  that  once  came  forth  from  out  the  bones  of  St. 

Catherine. 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 


249 


10.  In  a gothic  chapel : 

a.  The  point  of  a nail  with  which  our  Lord  was  nailed  to  the 

cross. 

b.  A particle  of  the  holy  cross. 

c.  A tooth  of  St.  Catherine. 

d.  Part  of  a leg  (tibia)  of  the  Emperor  Charlemagne. 

11.  In  a shrine  representing  a gothic  church,  richly  enamelled  and 

adorned  with  pearls  and  precious  stones : 

a.  A fragment  of  the  reed  that  served  to  make  a mock  of  our 

Saviour. 

b.  A part  of  the  linen  cloth  which  was  spread  over  his  holy  face 

in  the  grave. 

c.  Some  hair  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

d.  A rib  of  the  first  martyr,  St.  Stephen. 

12.  In  a reliquary,  in  the  form  of  a great  arm,  is  enclosed  the  upper 

part  of  the  right  arm  of  Charlemagne. 

13.  The  bugle-horn  of  Charlemagne. 

14.  A bust  of  Charlemagne,  containing  a part  of  the  scull  of  the  great 

emperor. 

15.  A golden  cross,  containing  a particle  of  the  holy  cross. 

16.  In  a shrine  representing  a Greek  chapel,  the  scull  of  the  holy 

monk  St.  Anastasius. 

17.  A statue  of  St.  Peter  the  Apostle,  showing  in  his  hand  a ring 

from  the  chain  with  which  this  man  of  God,  who  has  suffered 
so  many  persecutions  and  trials,  was  chained  in  the  prison. 

18.  Bones  of  the  holy  bishop  and  martyr  Spei,  in  a little  ivory  chest. 

19.  A great  gilt  silver  shrine,  containing  several  bones  of  Charle- 

magne. 

C.  The  principal  works  of  art  in  the  treasure  of  the 

cathedral. 

20.  A shrine,  the  depository  for  the  great  relics. 

21.  A chest  richly  ornamented,  used  when  the  relics  are  borne  to  the 

gallery  for  the  public  show. 

22.  A vessel,  containing  the  pectoral  cross  of  Charlemagne. 

D . Relics  and  other  remarkable  objects  of  the  other 

churches  of  the  town . 
a.  In  the  parish  church  of  St.  Adalbert. 

1.  The  scull  of  the  bishop  and  martyr  St.  Ethelbert,  conveyed  to 
Aix-la-Chapelle  by  Otto  III. 


250 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


2.  A shoulder-bone  and  a leg-bone  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen. 

3.  Two  small  particles  of  the  sponge  with  which  our  Lord  was  re- 

freshed on  the  cross. 

4.  Two  particles  of  the  scull  of  St.  Quirinus. 

5.  The  scull  of  St.  Hermetis,  of  which  Henry  II.  made  a donation 

to  this  church. 

6.  Bones  of  St.  Nicholas,  the  Bishop  of  Mira. 

7.  The  shoulder-blade  of  St.  Laurence  the  martyr. 

8.  A leg-bone  and  a fragment  of  the  coat  of  St.  Benedict. 

9.  An  arm-bone  of  St.  Sebastian. 

10.  The  hunting-knife  of  the  Emperor  St.  Henry,  founder  of  this 

church. 

11.  The  veil  of  St.  Gertrude. 

12.  A leg-bone  of  St.  Agnes. 

13.  The  jaw-bone  with  a tooth  of  St.  Denis  Areopagita. 

14.  A bone  and  some  blood  of  St.  Stephen. 

15.  A part  of  the  coat  of  St.  Walpurgis. 

16.  A part  of  the  holy  cross. 

17.  The  arm-bone  of  St.  Christopher. 

18.  A fragment  of  the  crib  in  which  our  Lord  was  laid  at  his  birth. 

19.  Some  bones  of  St.  Marcellus  and  other  saints. 


b.  In  the  church  of  St.  Theresa. 

1.  A piece  of  the  linen  cloth  that  covered  the  face  of  our  Lord  in  the 

house  of  Caiphas,  when  he  was  beaten,  and  asked,  “ Now, 
do  prophesy  us,”  &c. 

2.  A “ corporale,”  reddened  with  the  holy  blood  that  an  inattentive 

priest  shed  while  he  was  consecrating  the  chalice. 

3.  A linen  cloth  of  the  Holy  Virgin.  The  knight-german  of  Rander- 

aidt  carried  it  from  the  Orient,  and  by  the  intercession  of  the 
father  Lector  Arnold,  of  Wallhorn,  it  was  deposited  in  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Augustin  in  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

4.  The  scull  of  the  holy  martyr  Theodore. 

5.  A piece  of  the  linen  cloth  in  which  was  laid  the  body  of  St 

Laurence  when  taken  from  the  fire. 

6.  A part  of  the  soutane  in  which  deacon  St.  Laurence  served  at  the 

altar. 

7.  Some  oil  that  is  recorded  to  have  come  from  the  bones  of  St. 

Elizabeth. 

8.  A part  of  the  holy  cross. 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 


251 


c.  In  the  parish  church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  at  Bnrtschied, 
near  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

r.  A cross  containing  two  pieces  of  the  holy  cross,  pieces  of  the 
clothes  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  the  pillar  and  the  whip  serving  at 
the  scourging  of  our  Lord,  of  the  garment  of  the  Holy  Vir- 
gin and  bones  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  James  the  younger,  and 
finally  a piece  of  the  rod  of  Aaron  and  Moses. 

2.  A silver  gilt  bust,  with  a large  piece  of  the  scull  of  St.  Laurence. 

3.  A silver  gilt  bust,  with  an  arm-bone  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

4.  A bust,  with  the  scull  of  St.  Evermarus. 

5.  The  scull  of  the  Holy  Virgin  and  martyress  St.  Agatha. 

6.  A relic  shrine,  containing  in  its  top  a piece  of  the  holy  cross  ; in 

the  centre,  bones  of  St.  Andrew  the  Apostle,  teeth  and  bones 
of  the  apostles  Simon  Juda,  James  the  younger,  Matthias,  and 
of  the  evangelists  St.  Luke  and  St.  Mark,  of  the  levites  and 
martyrs  St.  Timotheus,  Vincent,  of  the  martyrs  St.  Fabian  and 
St.  Sebastian,  of  St.  Stephen,  St.  Barbara,  and  the  saints  Vitus 
and  Fortunatus  ; in  the  four  corners,  relics  of  the  saints  John 
the  Baptist,  Donatus,  Emerentia,  Cornelius,  the  pope  and 
martyr,  of  the  saints  Cyprianus,  Hermet,  Aegidius,  Pancra- 
tius,  and  Luzia ; and  in  its  base,  a relic  of  St.  Adrian  and  an 
arm-bone  of  St  Laurence. 

7.  A shrine,  containing  in  its  top  a piece  of  the  holy  cross  ; in  the 

centre,  different  bones  of  St.  Laurence,  a piece  of  the  scull  of 
St.  Sixtus  ; in  the  four  corners,  relics  of  St.  John  Chrysosto- 
,mus,  of  St.  Calixtus,  of  St.  Gregorius,  and  pieces  of  the  sculls 
and  bones  of  St.  Apolinaris,  and  of  St.  Maurice  ; in  the  base, 
relics  of  St.  Damasus  and  an  arm-bone  of  St.  Alexis. 

8.  A shrine,  with  bones  of  St.  Maximus  and  his  colleagues,  viz. : Of 

the  saints  Lambert,  Gervasius,  and  Protasius,  of  St.  Peter 
Justinianus,  of  the  apostles  St.  Andrew,  Matthias,  and  Matthew, 
of  the  saints  Gregorius,  Chrysostomus,  Servatius,  Felix,  Luzia, 
and  Elizabeth,  mother  to  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

9.  A shrine,  with  relics  of  St.  Valerius  and  Germanus,  St.  Cosmas 

and  St.  Damianus,  St.  Martin  and  St.  Constantia,  teeth  of 
the  apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  of  St.  Cordula,  teeth  of  St. 
Sixtus,  St.  Cassius,  St.  Juliana,  St.  Matthias,  St.  Evermarus, 
and  of  the  holy  queen  Binosa. 

10.  A pyramid,  with  relics  of  St.  Barbara,  St.  Peter,  St.  Juliana,  St. 
Apollonia,  and  St.  Apollinarus  ; in  the  base,  a relic  of  the  holy 
martyr  Laurence. 


252  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

11.  A pyramid,  with  a tooth  of  the  holy  apostle  St.  Matthias,  bones  of 

St.  Vitalis,  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  apostles  St.  James  and 
St.  Bartholomew,  and  of  St.  Marcellus  and  St.  Laurence. 

12.  Little  fragments  of  the  swathing-clothes  of  our  Lord. 

13.  A bone  of  the  Holy  Virgin  and  martyress  Luzia. 

14.  The  penitential  coat  of  St.  Margaret,  royal  princess  of  Hungaria. 

15.  In  a small  vial  some  blood  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

16.  A portrait  of  the  holy  bishop  Nicholas  in  Greek  mosaic. 

17.  A grave  wherein  lie  the  bones  and  relics  of  St.  Gregorius,  son  to 

the  Greek  Emperor  Nicephorus,  who  was  the  first  abbot  of  this 
church,  that  once  had  been  a free  imperial  chapter. 

18.  A fragment  of  linen  tinged  with  blood  of  the  priest  St.  Francis,  of 

Jerome,  S.  J. 

19.  A particle  of  the  bones  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

20.  A little  box,  containing  a particle  of  the  scull  of  St.  John  the 
* Baptist,  particles  of  the  bones  of  St.  Raynerus,  of  St.  Lewis, 

king  of  France,  and  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  and  martyress  Cath- 
erine. 

21.  A fragment  of  the  cloak  of  St.  Francis,  of  Assisi. 

22.  A particle  of  the  bones  of  the  innocent  children. 

Several  hundred  years  ago  it  was  the  custom  to  expose 
these  relics  every  year  in  the  month  of  July ; but  it  was 
found  that  in  some  stormy  war  times  the  precious  things 
were  in  danger  of  being  carried  off,  and  it  was  ordered  that 
once  in  seven  years  they  should  be  exhibited  to  the  be- 
lievers. It  was  the  year  and  the  day  of  the  septennial 
demonstration  when  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  and  I arrived  at 
Aix-la-Chapelle.  The  unbelieving  Mohammedan  did  not 
stay  and  see  the  show,  but  I did. 

It  was  now  dark ; but  I walked  around  the  cathedral.  All 
the  streets  leading  to  it  were  thronged  with  people,  and 
through  the  crowds  it  was  hard  to  thread  one’s  way.  At 
the  door,  which  I finally  reached,  the  people  were  coming 
out,  and  the  guards  informed  me  that  the  only  entrance  was 
on  the  other  side.  It  was  a long  way,  and  not  very  pleasant ; 
but  at  last  I gained  the  court,  where  the  blessed  pilgrims 
were  permitted  to  enter.  Two  lines  of  men,  women,  and 
children,  in  single  file,  stretching  far  away  into  the  dark- 
ness and  into  some  remote  part  of  the  city,  were  marching 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 


253 


steadily  into  the  cathedral,  saying  their  prayers  aloud  as 
they  walked  slowly,  devout  in  their  appearance,  and  full  of 
anxiety  to  get  a sight  of  the  precious  treasures  within.  The 
prayers  they  were  repeating  are  prepared  for  this  service, 
and  have,  reference  to  the  sacred  relics  whose  sovereign 
virtues  they  are  now  hoping  to  enjoy.  When  the  remains 
of  President  Lincoln  were  for  one  day  and  night  exposed 
in  the  City  Hall  of  New  York,  the  public  were  admitted  to 
view  them,  and  the  line  extended  some  miles  up  town,  and 
marched  steadily  into  the  park  all  night  long.  Except  that 
procession  of  gazers,  I never  saw  a crowd  intent  on  such  a 
sight  to  equal  the  number  of  these  pilgrims.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  enter  the  cathedral  under  these  circumstances,  and 
I was  told  that  by  coming  early  the  next  morning  I could 
be  admitted  alone.  'But  the  next  morning  the  gates  were 
closed  against  all  comers,  and  preparations  were  on  foot  for 
the  grand  septennial  procession  of  the  relics.  The  court 
and  the  streets  leading  to  it  were  filled  with  rude  benches, 
and  thousands  were  seated  where  they  could  look  with 
reverential  awe  on  the  cathedral  in  which  these  holy  things 
were  preserved.  From  the  multitude  there  was  rising  on 
the  air,  like  the  sound  of  many  waters,  the  voice  of  prayer. 
Away  up  one  of  the  towers  was  a gallery  passing  around  it, 
and  on  that  gallery  a procession  of  priests  was  making  a 
frequent  circuit,  while  the  crowd  gazed  upwards  with 
evident  edification,  as  the  holy  utensils  and  the  cross  were 
borne  aloft  between  them  and  heaven.  There  in  the  sun 
they  sat,  and  thousands  stood  gazing  and  praying,  the  per- 
fect embodiment  of  superstition,  and  the  easy  dupes  of  a 
cunning  priesthood.  They  were  of  the  lowest  class  of  the 
population,  if  we  could  judge  correctly  by  their  dress  and 
appearance.  Yet  were  they  orderly  and  devout,  and  only 
when  some  special  spectacle  led  them  all  to  rush  to  get  the 
best  place  was  there  any  need  of  the  many  guards  who 
were  on  hand  at  all  times  to  prevent  disorder. 


254 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  grand  procession  was  to  emerge  from  the  cathedral 
at  two  o’clock  p.m.  Then  all  these  relics  were  to  be 
carried  in  pomp  in  the  hands  and  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
prelates  through  the  streets  of  the  city.  “ Good  places  to 
see  the  procession  ” were  advertised  for  sale  on  the  walls 
of  the  houses,  and  selecting  one  whose  windows  looked 
out  upon  the  court  of  the  cathedral  and  near  its  great 
door,  I entered  and  hired  half  of  one  of  the  windows,  taking 
a ticket  that  was  to  secure  my  seat  when  I returned. 

Thus  sure  of  the  wonderful  privilege  of  seeing  the 
wealth  of  holy  things  which  had  brought  these  thousands 
here,  I went  off,  and  “ assisted  ” in  a demonstration  with 
the  Sultan  of  Turkey.  He  was  on  his  way  home  from 
England,  and  was  expected  to  reach  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  the 
evening.  But  in  consequence  of  delays  on  the  road  he  did 
not  arrive  until  five  o’clock  in  the  morning.  He  was  then 
escorted  to  the  palace,  a modest  mansion  which  the  King  of 
Prussia  occupies  when  he  is  here,  a rare  event.  When  the 
Sultan  had  taken  a brief  rest  and  breakfast,  he  was  to  de- 
part for  Coblenz  at  ten  a.m.,  and  the  better  part  of  the 
city  turned  out  to  see  him  as  he  rode  through  the  streets 
to  the  railroad.  He  is  a much  better-looking  man  than 
his  predecessor  on  the  Ottoman  throne,  whom  I saw  in 
Constantinople  some  years  ago.  This  man  is  stout,  short, 
grave,  with  heavy  black  beard,  and  very  Turk  in  his  ap- 
pearance. His  visit  to  the  west  is  regarded  by  his  subjects 
as  a part  of  the  great  work  he  is  supposed  by  them  to  have 
on  his  hands,  — the  government  of  the  world.  To  this  day 
the  most  of  them  believe  that  France  and  England  simply 
obeyed  his  orders  when  they  came  to  the  aid  of  the  Sultan, 
and  that  he  has  now  been  out  west  to  look  after  his  prov- 
inces there. 

In  front  of  the  palace  and  all  along  the  streets  dense 
masses  of  people  pressed  to  get  a sight ; two  Romish 
priests  stood  by  me,  and  were  intensely  curious  to  see 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 


255 


the  Turk.  After  a dozen  carriages  with  his  suite  had 
passed,  the  state  coach,  with  two  fat  horses  and  one  very 
fat  coachman,  — coach,  horses,  and  coachman  covered  with 
gold  lace  and  trimmings,  — came  along  with  the  solitary 
Sultan  inside.  The  people  sent  up  a very  faint  cheer,  but 
he  took  no  more  notice  of  it  than  he  would  if  the  dogs  had 
barked  ; looked  stolidly  down  into  the  coach  and  rode  out 
of  sight 

At  one  p.m.  I returned  to  my  hired  window.  The 
crowd  was  vastly  increased,  dense  masses  of  humanity 
filling  every  inch  of  space  in  sight  of  the  line  of  march. 
But  the  court  of  the  cathedral  had  been  cleared,  and  a 
strong  bar,  guarded  by  soldiers,  forbade  the  ingress  of  the 
multitude.  The  house  where  I was  to  enter  was  opposite 
to  the  door  of  the  baptistery,  and  the  whole  court  which 
was  to  be  the  scene  of  the  great  display  was  in  full  view 
from  my  window.  I was  early  on  the  ground,  and  when  I 
took  possession  of  the  humble  chamber  was  the  only 
person  in  it.  To  get  to  it  I had  to  pass  through  the  bed- 
room of  the  house,  and  in  that  was  a double  bed,  two  or 
three  single  beds,  and  a crib,  in  which  the  whole  family 
slept  side  by  side.  Presently  three  Romish  priests  and  two 
women  entered,  having  also  previously  engaged  places  in 
this  eligible  apartment.  The  priests  appeared  to  be  intel- 
ligent men,  and  we  conversed  freely  in  French.  They  told 
me  they  had  come  from  Holland  to  see  the  holy  relics,  and 
to  participate  in  the  solemnities  of  the  occasion,  and  were 
then  going  to  make  a tour  in  Germany.  The  women  were 
travelling  in  company.  Presently  one  of  the  priests  took 
out  his  prayer-book,  and,  retiring  to  one  side  of  the  room, 
entered  upon  his  devotions.  One  of  the  women  called  my 
attention  to  him,  and,  giving  me  a wink  of  the  eye,  put  up 
her  finger  to  the  side  of  her  nose,  and  expressed  the  great- 
est possible  contempt  of  the  man  at  prayer.  She  was  very 
lively,  sometimes  put  her  foot  on  the  table,  slapped  her 


256 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


sister  on  the  back  heartily,  drank  three  glasses  of  beer, 
which  the  priests  paid  for,  and  said  it  was  goot. 

A band  of  musicians  arrived,  and  took  their  stand  in 
the  court.  Officers  in  black  dress  with  staves  appeared. 
The  crowd  pressed  more  and  more  densely  on  the  bar,  and 
in  the  struggle  to  get  nearer,  I feared  some  would  be 
crushed  to  death.  In  years  past,  there  have  been  many 
disasters  of  that  kind  here.  Roofs  of  houses,  overloaded, 
have  sunk  down  with  their  living  burden.  And  as  far  as 
my  eyes  could  see,  the  picturesque  multitude  swarmed  and 
heaved.  Many  in  blue  blouses  ; women  with  red  shawls 
over  their  heads ; and  every  color  was  seen  in  their  vari- 
egated costumes,  yet  none  but  the  commonest  of  the 
common  people  were  there. 

At  two  o’clock,  a few  horsemen  rode  into  the  crowd  and 
opened  a passage  for  the  procession  soon  to  emerge  from 
the  church.  Where  the  people  were  to  retire,  how  they 
could  be  compressed  into  a smaller  space,  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  see.  Walls  on  all  sides,  but  down  the  streets  they 
had  to  go,  and,  as  they  were  pressed  against  the  houses, 
fright  was  on  the  faces  of  many  ; children1  were  held  up 
overhead  to  save  them  from  being  crushed  ; closer  and 
closer  they  were  stowed  away  ; women  put  up  their  hands 
imploringly,  but  the  horses  tramped  among  them,  and  a 
way  was  at  last  cleared  through  the  solid  mass  of  human 
beings.  It  was  not  yet  time  for  the  procession  to  come 
out : this  was  only  to  let  the  officiating  ecclesiastics,  and 
servants  bearing  vestments,  and  boys  in  white  with  ban- 
ners to  pass  in.  But  the  time  wore  on,  and  at  last  the 
bells  began  to  ring,  a cannon  was  fired,  a strong  sensation 
swayed  the  waiting  multitude,  there  was  a sound  of  martial 
music,  there  was  the  roar  of  the  voices  of  the  crowds  who 
could  not  restrain  their  feelings,  the  door  of  the  cathedral 
opened,  and  the  great  pageant  began. 

In  front  marched  a band  of  boys  in  white  raiment,  with 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.  257 

banners  in  their  hands  ; a few  Capuchin  monks  came  next, 
in  the  coarse  costume  of  their  order  ; then  followed  a com- 
pany of  ecclesiastics,  in  white  robes,  with  prayer-books  in 
their  hands,  reading  aloud  as  they  walked  ; a large  number 
in  red  and  gold  embroidered  robes  followed  ; a choir  of  young 
men  singing  ; a brass  band,  making  fine  music  ; and  then, 
wonderful  to  behold  ! in  the  midst  of  all  this  pomp  appeared 
the  dignitaries  of  the  church,  gorgeously  attired,  and  bear- 
ing in  succession  the  various  relics  which  have  already 
been  named.  They  were  enclosed  in  glass,  some  of  them, 
and  others  were  in  magnificent  chests  of  gold  and  silver, 
borne  aloft  on  the  shoulders  of  six  men  each,  and  sur- 
rounded with  the  richest  trappings,  as  if  the  wealth  of  the 
universe  might  well  be  lavished  on  such  precious  treasures 
as  these.  The  sacred  procession  was  greeted  everywhere 
as  it  proceeded  with  the  prayers  of  the  people,  kneeling 
while  it  passed  them.  It  took  its  way  up  into  the  city, 
through  various  streets  by  a prescribed  route,  in  the  midst 
of  living  masses  of  people,  the  windows  and  roofs  filled 
with  anxious  spectators,  who  might  never  see  the  like 
again,  and  thousands  of  whom  had  come  from  afar,  and 
had  never  seen  it  before.  The  march  was  about  an  hour 
long,  and  then  they  returned  to  the  same  court.  But  the 
procession  was  now  largely  increased.  Two  hundred  “ sis- 
ters,” of  some  order,  had  joined  in,  dressed  in  white,  and 
perhaps  as  many  of  another  order,  in  black  ; companies  of 
infirm  old  men  and  women,  as  if  from  some  asylum,  and 
hundreds  of  lads  in  uniform,  bearing  flags,  and  four  of 
them  in  white,  with  branches  of  lilies  and  green  leaves  in 
their  hands.  The  procession  entered  the  court,  and,  open- 
ing to  the  right  and  left,  filled  the  area  ; the  holy  relics  were 
borne  into  the  midst,  while  the  vast  company  lifted  up  their 
voices  in  singing,  the  band  played,  the  bells  rung,  the 
cannon  roared.  It  was  a mighty  choir  in  the  open  air, 
under  the  walls  of  a cathedral  that  had  stood  there  a 


!7 


258 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


thousand  years  ; the  vast  multitude  were  hushed  to  si- 
lence to  hear  the  music  of  this  holy  band  of  monks  and 
priests  and  women  and  children,  and  while  the  whole 
atmosphere  was  full  of  song,  the  pageant  passed  into  the 
temple. 

My  companions  at  the  windows,  the  priests  and  their 
women,  took  leave  of  me,  as  they  were  in  haste  to  take  the 
railroad  for  Cologne.  I stepped  down  into  the  court,  and 
on  the  heels  of  the  procession  entered  the  cathedral.  The 
relics  were  deposited  in  the  holy  places  ; the  great  golden 
chests  were  placed  in  front  of  the  altar,  and  high  mass 
was  celebrated  with  the  splendor  of  ceremonial  becoming 
this  great  occasion. 

When  the  procession  was  finished,  the  holy  relics  in  their 
several  repositories  for  another  seven  years,  and  mass  duly 
celebrated,  I returned  to  the  hotel  to  dinner.  About  twenty 
persons  were  at  the  table.  On  my  right  sat  a party  of 
French  people,  gentlemen  and  ladies,  and  the  fun  they 
made  of  what  they  had  seen  on  the  street  was  immense. 
They  ridiculed  as  ludicrous  in  the  extreme,  and  as  the 
very  height  of  absurdity  and  nonsense,  the  idea  that  the 
clothes  and  sponge  and  garments  worn  two  thousand 
years  ago,  and  constantly  exposed  to  air  and  all  the 
chances  and  changes  of  these  eighteen  centuries,  should 
be  here  to-day  in  good  condition ; and,  of  course,  the 
priests  and  church  came  in  for  a good  share  of  denun- 
ciation. In  front  of  me,  and  on  my  left,  was  an  English- 
speaking  party,  the  central  and  principal  personage  in  the 
group  being  an  English  priest.  His  garb  was  that  of 
Rome,  and  his  conversation  was  becoming  his  garb  ; but 
whether  he  had  ever  been  received  into  the  full  communion 
of  Holy  Mother,  or  was  only  aping  her  manners  and  wearing 
her  vestments,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  It  makes  little 
difference,  however.  He  was  disgusted  by  the  infidelity 
of  these  French  people,  and,  supposing  none  at  the  table 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 


259 


understood  the  English,  he  went  on  to  say  that  it  was 
highly  improper  to  come  into  a foreign  country  and  ridi- 
cule the  customs  and  faith  of  the  people.  “ For  my  part,” 
said  he,  “ I think  they  are  very  stupid,  as  well  as  very  ill- 
bred,  to  make  such  remarks  at  a public  table  where  there 
are  others  who  hold  these  relics  in  high  honor  as  memo- 
rials of  their  holy  religion.”  The  ladies  of  the  party  joined 
him  fully  in  these  sentiments,  and,  to  my  surprise,  I soon 
discovered  that  the  two  ladies  between  whom  he  was 
sitting,  and  whom  he  always  addressed  as  “ My  dear,” 
were  both  Americans,  and  evidently  destined  to  become, 
if  they  had  not  already,  excellent  Romans.  All  of  them, 
and  the  party  was  six  or  seven  in  number,  had  been  gazing 
on  the  same  spectacle  that  I had  seen  with  mingled  indig- 
nation and  pity,  and  these  enlightened,  cultivated  English 
and  American  people  received  the  whole  exposition  as  a 
glorious  manifestation  to  their  eyes  of  the  veritable  ob- 
jects that  were  used  at  the  time  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
scenes  of  the  sufferings  and  death  of  our  blessed  Lord, 
and,  therefore,  justly  to  be  held  in  reverence  by  all  the 
faithful  in  all  coming  time. 

Pictures  of  the  relics  were  for  sale  in  all  the  shops,  and  I 
bought  a few  as  souvenirs  of  my  pilgrimage.  Particularly 
I sought  for  a good  representation  of  that  one  which  is  first 
on  the  list  and  first  in  the  admiration  of  the  people.  As 
the  Virgin  Mother  Mary  is  held  in  higher  honor  by  all  good 
Catholics  than  the  . Son  of  God  himself,  so  they  likewise 
venerate  with  a deeper  reverence  the  linen  garment  that 
she  wore  than  the  cloth  which  was  around  the  loins  of  the 
Saviour  on  the  cross.  Having  found  two  or  three  good 
copies  of  this  peculiar  garment,  my  curiosity  was  gratified 
to  see  the  style  which  the  ladies  of  Judea  wore  it  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1 and  onwards.  Fashions  change,  and 
with  the  ladies  they  change  more  frequently  than  among 
the  other  sex.  But  the  Virgin’s  “ linen  garment  ” is  exactly 


26o 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


in  the  form  and  pattern  of  those  in  use  in  modern  times. 
It  has  short  sleeves,  reaching  but  a little  over  the  shoulder ; 
it  has  a lace  frill  or  something  of  the  sort  around  the  neck, 
with  a place  for  drawing  strings  in  front.  It  looks,  in  fact, 
like  any  other  shirt  with  the  sleeves  cut  off. 

Now,  just  imagine,  if  you  can,  a company  of  fine-looking 
men,  fifty  or  sixty  years  old,  in  gorgeous  costume,  with  the 
symbols  of  priesthood  and  the  pomp  of  kings,  marching 
through  the  streets  of  a city,  and  bearing  aloft,  for  the  admira- 
tion of  a gaping  multitude,  an  old  shirt.  That  is  the  mild- 
est way  of  putting  it ! That  the  Virgin  Mary  ever  had  it 
on,  there  is  not  the  slightest  possible  reason  to  suppose. 
That  such  garments  were  then  worn  is  contradicted  by  our 
knowledge  of  the  costume  of  the  Orientals  of  the  present 
and  former  times.  But  to  argue  the  question  is  as  absurd 
as  to  believe  in  the  shirt.  Faith  in  these  relics  comes  not 
by  reason  or  argument,  but  is  hereditary,  blind,  morbid,  and 
against  the  senses.  To  doubt  is  fatal,  and  nobody  here 
doubts.  They  believe  in  the  holy  linen  of  Mary,  her  girdle, 
the  rope,  the  sponge,  Bartholomew’s  hair,  Thomas’  teeth, 
Simeon’s  arm,  St.  Catherine’s  oil,  Stephen’s  rib,  Peter’s 
chain,  and  the  child  Jesus’  crib.  If  they  believe  in  these 
things,  what  will  they  not  believe  ? And  English  and 
American  men  and  women  come  here  and  profess  their 
faith  in  the  whole ! 

Pilgrimages  to  this  shrine  have  been  made  for  the  last 
six  or  seven  hundred  years.  The  number  of  believers 
crowding  in  at  one  time  has  sometimes  been  so  great  that 
it  was  found  necessary  to  shut  the  gates  of  the  city  in  order 
t@  prevent  the  increase.  Every  pilgrim  was  expected  to 
pay  a penny,  and  in  one  year  these  amounted  to  80,000 
florins,  or  1,600,000  pence-.  In  that  year  142,000  persons 
were  present  in  one  day.  In  that  period  the  numbers 
were  so  great  that  separate  quarters  of  the  town  were 
assigned  to  different  nationalities,  and  they  were  allowed  to 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 


26l 


see  the  relics  in  their  turn.  They  approached  the  relics  on 
their  knees,  and  in  regular  order,  each  bearing  a pure  wax 
candle.  Great  preparations  were  required  to  feed  these 
multitudes,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  it  was 
found  too  much  of  a job  to  have  this  thing  going  on  every 
year.  Once  in  seven  is  certainly  quite  often  enough.  But 
the  same  forms  and  ceremonies  of  opening  and  displaying 
the  treasures  have  been  preserved  from  age  to  age.  The 
exhibition  begins  July  10th  and  terminates  July  24th.  The 
rush  became  so  great  at  one  time  that  it  was  determined  to 
dispense  with  the  farce.  But  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  who, 
like  the  Diana  smiths,  make  great  gains  out  of  the  pilgrims, 
raised  such  a clamor  that  the  show  was  resumed ; and  it  is 
now  as  fixed  in  the  routine  of  religious  rites  in  this  Protes- 
tant country  of  Prussia  as  the  toting  of  the  Pope  on  men’s 
shoulders  at  Christmas  in  Rome.  Once  in  seven  years  the 
people  flock  hither  for  two  weeks  in  July,  and  on  the  24th 
the  grand  procession  takes  place. 

But  if  the  sight  of  these  relics  does  the  souls  of  the 
pilgrims  no  good,  you  may  rest  assured  that  the  waters  of 
these  fountains  will  prove  a Siloam  to  you  if  you  have  gout, 
rheumatism,  or  any  cutaneous  disease.  Perhaps  it  is  not 
well  for  me  to  prescribe  without  knowing  the  peculiar 
symptoms  of  your  case ; but  for  so  many  centuries  have 
these  waters  been  flowing  for  the  healing  of  the  people, 
that  I have  great  faith  in  their  secret  virtues.  Over  the 
principal  fountain  is  a temple,  and  from  it  extends  a covered 
walk.  The  visitors  take  the  water  early  in  the  morning, 
and,  as  it  is  too  hot  to  drink  off  at  once,  they  walk  up  and 
down,  glass  in  hand,  sipping  as  they  go.  Near  by  is  the 
garden  where,  under  shade-trees  and  by  the  side  of  foun- 
tains, they  sit  and  chat,  or  listen  to  sweet  music  which  the 
band  discourses.  As  I was  lounging  here,  a young  English- 
man was  helped  in  by  his  sisters,  and  he  was  placed  near 
me,  so  that  I heard  all  their  conversation  concerning  his 


262 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


progress  toward  being  cured.  Then  a lady  on  two  crutches 
hobbled  in,  and,  arranging  herself  as  comfortably  as  her 
evident  lameness  would  permit,  sought  a little  rest  from 
pain.  An  elderly  man  with  his  leg  in  splinters  had  two 
servants  to  hold  him  up,  and  his  condition  seemed  to  sug- 
gest that  the  waters  were  sought  even  for  the  benefit  of 
broken  limbs.  The  variety  of  diseases  is  not  so  great 
perhaps  as  at  other  springs  ; but  the  gouty,  the  lame,  and 
the  halt,  seem  to  lie  around  among  these  orange-trees, 
flowery  shrubs,  gravel  walks,  and  cool  shades.  But  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  visitors  to  the  springs  come  for 
pleasure  only.  There  is  a large  Kur herns,  in  which  are  rooms 
for  concerts  and  balls,  for  reading  and  conversation,  and  in 
the  court  a beautiful  garden,  into  which  subscribers*  are 
admitted.  There  the  ladies  take  their  work  or  their  book, 
and,  around  little  tables  on  which  is  a cup  of  tea  or  glass  of 
light  wine,  they  spend  the  afternoon,  the  gentlemen  smoking 
if  they  please,  and  an  orchestra  of  splendid  performers  play- 
ing. It  is  a scene  of  social  and  elegant  ease,  the  dolce  far 
niente  to  perfection,  with  really  more  enjoyment  in  it  than 
is  often  to  be  found  where  people  have  nothing  to  do. 
There  is  no  gambling  here,  and  that  drives  off  a class  of 
men  and  women  that  infest  every  watering-place  where 
gaming-tables  are  licensed.  The  company  is  therefore 
select,  compared  with  the  Badens  and  Homburg.  And  the 
baths  are  splendid.  They  are  furnished  at  all  the  hotels,  and 
there  are  establishments  specially  fitted  up  for  them.  Into 
one  of  these  I went  to  enjoy  the  luxury.  Each  bath  has  a 
dressing-room  adjoining  it,  out  of  which  when  ready  you 
go  down  four  or  five  stone  steps  into  a large  cemented 
bath,  while  the  water  from  two  large  pipes  is  pouring  in. 
On  a stone  bench  at  one  end  of  the  bath  you  sit  down  till 
the  water  comes  up  to  your  chin,  and  then  it  ceases  to  flow. 
At  first  the  smell  of  sulphur  is  strong  ; but  this  ceases  to 
be  disagreeable.  The  temperature  is  perfect,  the  water 


PILGRIMAGE  TO  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.  263 

abundant,  plenty  of  towels,  and  a sheet  besides,  and  the 
price  is  about  25  cents.  I enjoyed  it  exceedingly,  and  com- 
mend it  before  all  other  bathing  establishments  this  side  of 
Turkey. 

The  antiquary  finds  much  to  interest  him  in  this  old 
town.  It  is  something  to  be  where  Charlemagne  was  born 
and  buried,  and  to  see  the  works  of  his  mighty  hand  ; to 
visit  the  town-house,  a tower  of  which  still  bears  the  name 
of  Granus,  a brother  of  Nero , who  is  said  to  have  built  it, 
and  to  have  founded  the  city  124  years  after  Christ.  In 
this  house  is  a great  hall,  where  for  many  successive  cen- 
turies the  Emperors  of  Germany  were  crowned.  In  front 
of  it  is  a statue  of  Charlemagne,  and  the  priests  carry  a 
silver  bust  of  him  in  their  septennial  procession,  with  a bit 
of  his  skull  in  the  top  of  it. 


264 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


FRANKFORT. 


ITH  faces  at  last  fairly  turned  towards  Russia,  we 


stopped  to  rest  for  a day  at  the  old  town  of  Frankfort 
— the  Ford  of  the  Franks . Towards  evening  I wandered 
out  to  an  old  graveyard. 

Like  some  in  our  own  cities,  it  had  ceased  to  be  used  for 
interments,  and  its  walks  and  shade  and  vacant  squares 
had  become  places  of  recreation  for  the  children  of  the 
town.  The  gates  were  never  shut,  and,  indeed,  the  walls 
were  broken,  so  that  it  was  a public  square  for  the  living 
rather  than  a quiet  resting-place  for  the  dead.  A party  of 
little  folks  were  amusing  themselves  with  children’s  plays, 
and  I paused  in  my  solitary  stroll  to  see  them  go  through 
the  old-time  game  of  “ Oats,  peas,  beans,  and  barley  grow,” 
the  same  that  our  children  from  generation  to  generation 
play  with  so  much  zest  on  the  grass  or  the  carpet  at  home. 
It  was  pleasant  to  know  that  the  young  ones,  in  another 
language,  were  singing  the  same  simple  song  that  millions 
on  the  other  side  of  the  sea  have  sung  and  will  sing  in 
their  childish  glee.  It  was  a queer  place  for  children  to 
make  a playground.  Our  children  would  not  fancy  it.  The 
Germans  have  more  pleasing  associations  with  the  burial- 
places  of  their  dead  than  we  have.  They  indulge  in  cheer- 
ful sentimentalism  more  than  we  do,  in  this  direction. 
These  old  graves  are  covered  with  flowering  shrubs ; some 
of  them  are  cared  for  by  the  children  or  friends  of  the 
sleepers  who  have  been  here  so  many  years  that  their  names 


FRANKFORT. 


265 


might  be  forgotten  but  for  the  tombstones.  I read  the  in- 
scriptions on  many,  and  sought  and  found  names  familiar 
in  history. 

One  grave  was  covered  with  wreaths  and  flowers.  Yet 
it  was  an  old  grave,  and  evidently  some  special  interest 
attached  to  it.  I drew  near  and  read  in  German,  — 

“The  Grave  of  the  Mother  of  Goethe.  Born  Feb. 

19,  1731.  Died  Sept.  13,  1808.” 

It  was  her  request  that  this  inscription  should  be  put 
upon  her  headstone.  The  mother’s  pride  is  in  it,  but  so 
beautiful  and  so  just ! No  man  of  this  century  has  wrought 
himself  more  thoroughly  into  the  German  mind,  and  only 
one  writer  has  led  captive  more  minds  in  the  world  at  large, 
than  Johan  Wolfgang  Von  Goethe,  whose  mother  lies  under 
this  brick  wall,  with  deep  shade-trees  hanging  over  her 
grave,  and  fresh  flowers  lying  on  it,  though  she  was  laid 
here  sixty  years  ago.  “ From  my  dear  little  mother,”  said 
the  poet  in  one  of  his  poems,  “ I derive  my  happy  dispo- 
sition and  my  love  of  story-telling.”  And  she  said  of  her- 
self, “ Order  and  quiet  are  my  chracteristics.  I despatch 
at  once  what  I have  to  do,  the  most  disagreeable  always 
first,  and  I gulp  down  the  devil  without  looking  at  him.  I 
always  seek  out  what  is  good  in  people,  and  leave  what  is 
bad  to  Him  who  made  mankind,  and  knows  how  to  round 
off  the  angles.” 

If  this  saying  of  Goethe’s  mother  could  be  told  in  all  the 
world  as  a memorial  of  her,  it  is  quite  likely  it  would  do  as 
much  for  the  good  of  mankind  as  all  that  hfer  son  ever 
wrote,  though  he  was  the  prince  of  German  poets,  and  the 
master  intellect  of  the  age. 

His  coffin  lies  in  the  Duke's  vault  at  Weimar,  or  did 
when  I was  there,  by  the  side  of  Schiller,  and  not  by  the 
side  of  the  Duke,  as  royal  etiquette  forbade,  even  in  the 
grave,  such  common  dust  as  that  of  these  two  great  poets  to 


266 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


be  laid  along  with  that  of  royal  clay.  Yet  the  Duke  is 
more  honored  by  having  had  the  friendship  of  the  poets 
than  by  his  crown  or  kingdom.' 

Twelve  years  after  the  birth  of  Goethe’s  mother,  in  1743, 
a Jew  was  born  in  Frankfort,  whose  name  and  power  in 
the  world  are  quite  as  great  as  that  of  the  poet.  It  is  a 
question  for  the  debating  societies,  whether  money  or  mind 
rules  in  this  age ; but  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  Roths- 
childs have  been  more  of  a power  in  Europe  during  the 
present  century  than  Goethe  and  all  the  poets  put  together. 
This  man  was  named  Anselm.  He  had  five  daughters  and 
five  sons  : all  of  the  sons  becoming  bankers  like  the  father, 
and  establishing  themselves  in  various  cities,  London,  Paris, 
Vienna,  and  Frankfort,  came  to  control  the  finances  of 
Europe,  and  to  wield  an  influence  before  which  the  con- 
querors of  kingdoms  were  often  compelled  to  bow.  They 
furriish  one  good  lesson  that  is  rarely  mentioned  or  thought 
of : the  father  and  five  sons,  and  their  children,  have  con- 
tinued in  one  firm,  — the  five  brothers  were  at  one  time  the 
firm,  — and,  thus  standing  by  one  another,  have  been  strong 
and  prosperous;  in  this  particular,  Jews  as  they  are,  they 
set  an  example  for  Christians  to  follow.  So  great  is  their 
wealth  and  credit,  that  when  the  revolutions  of  1848  in 
Europe  instantly  robbed  them  of  forty  millions  of  dollars, 
it  did  not  disturb  them,  nor  the  confidence  of  the  world  in 
their  stability.  Kings  and  emperors  are  their  guests  as 
well  as  their  customers ; and  this  summer,  one  of  them  on 
the  banks  of  Lake  Leman,  and  another  at  his  palace  in 
Paris,  has  entertained  royalty  in  right  regal  style.  To  us 
sovereigns  in  our  own  right,  this  is  nothing  very  remark- 
able; but  here,  in  the  land  of  kings  and  princes,  it  is  a 
matter  always  of  wonderment,  and  it  is  also  just  a little 
detriment  to  dignity,  when  a crowned  head  condescends  to 
eat  off  the  plate  of  anybody  but  a brother  of  blue  blood. 

This  old  city  of  Frankfort  has  had  its  ancestral  pride 


FRANKFORT. 


267 


sadly  humbled  in  being  swallowed  by  all-devouring  Prussia. 
A lady  said  to  me,  “ I hate  the  Prussians ; I know  it  is  not 
very  Christian,  but  I do  hate  ?hem  ; and  I believe  the  royal 
family  will  be  poisoned  yet ! ” This  venerable  city  was 
once  the  capital  of  the  German  empire,  the  seat  of  its 
Congress ; here  the  German  emperors  were  elected,  for 
successive  generations.  The  glory  that  invests  a spot  so 
sacred  has  now  departed ; and  the  firm  policy  of  Bismark, 
and  the  unification  of  Germany,  have  reduced  the  proud 
old  town  to  one  of  the  many  second-rate  cities  of  Europe. 
A city,  now-a-days,  cannot  live  on  the  past.  Trade  and 
travel  will  not  obey  traditions.  Frankfort  still  holds  a 
financial  importance  that  is  fast  passing  away ; and  more 
people  will  linger  here  for  a day  to  see  the  marble  Ariadne, 
by  Danneker,  than  to  visit  the  “ Hall  of  the  Caesars,”  where 
the  portraits  of  the  emperors  are  hung. 

We  left  by  rail  at  nine  in  the  morning.  The  cars  were 
large,  convenient,  and  elegant.  For  first-class  passengers 
they  were  divided  into  apartments  for  six,  and  were  lined 
with  red  plush.  The  second  class  were  quite  as  good,  but 
lined  with  drab ; and  the  chief  difference  was  in  the  price, 
which,  being  high  in  the  first  class,  makes  the  company 
more  select.  In  all  the  cars  smoking  is  allowed,  unless  notice 
is  posted  on  the  outside  to  the  contrary.  In  our  compart- 
ment, which  was  one  of  the  interdicted , there  were  three 
ladies  and  as  many  men,  only  one  of  them  a smoker ; and 
he  kept  on,  regardless  of  the  notice  and  the  company.  The 
third-class  cars  had  plain  board  seats  with  no  backs ; but  they 
were  clean,  and  very  decent-looking  people  rode  in  them. 
A fourth  class  were  like  our  cattle  cars,  only  not  so  good, 
for  ours  are  well  ventilated,  whereas  these  were  close,  and 
were  filled  with  dirty  people,  standing  up,  and  getting  what 
air  they  could  through  one  or  two  little  windows.  Yet 
these  people  were  generally  smoking,  their  poverty  com- 
pelling them  to  ride  like  cattle,  but  not  prevailing  to  make 
them  give  up  tobacco. 


268 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


We  passed  through  large  pine  forests.  Wind-mills  were 
frequent,  as  they  are  in  flat  countries,  where  no  waterfall 
power  can  be  had.  Women  were  at  work  repairing  the 
railroads  ; showing  that  here  woman  has  her  “ rights,”  as 
the  women  reformers  call  the  privilege  of  doing  any  thing 
that  men  do.  Of  course  they  are  degraded,  as  they  will  be 
with  us  just  as  fast  as  public  sentiment  allows  them  to 
assume  the  duties  that  do  not  belong  to  their  sex.  The 
waiting-rooms  at  the  stations  are  restaurants  also,  and  beer 
is  guzzled  incessantly.  Little  children  drink  beer  with 
their  parents. 

Vast  tracts  of  level  country  are  on  our  right  and  left. 
Not  a hill  is  in  sight.  The  scenery  is  uninterrupted  prairie. 
Passengers  are  informed,  by  notice  posted  in  the  cars,  that 
they  can  have  a dinner  served  at  certain  stations  ahead, 
and  that  the  conductors  will  send  on  the  order  by  telegraph 
without  charge.  At  all  the  stations  cake  and  beer  are 
passed  along  by  waiters  at  the  windows  of  the  cars,  and  you 
may  take  in  the  dishes  if  you  please,  and  leave  them  at  the 
next  station. 

Frankfort-on-thc-Oder  is  a venerable  town  of  37,000  in- 
habitants, memorable  as  the  scene  of  a great  battle  in  1759, 
when  Frederick  the  Great  was  defeated  by  the  Russians 
and  Austrians.  We  crossed  the  Oder  at  Castion,  the 
bridge  being  strongly  fortified,  as  if  war  were  imminent  or 
guns  relied  on  as  the  best  peace  preservers.  Immense 
tracts  of  peat-beds  are  on  the  route,  and  women  are  at 
work  wheeling  heavy  loads  of  it  just  cut  out,  and  men  cut- 
ting it,  the  women  being  made  to  do  the  hardest  work. 

At  Krewz  we  stopped  for  dinner.  We  had  sent  forward 
our  names  by  telegraph,  and  were  curious  to  see  what  was 
the  result.  It  proved  to  be  a good  soup,  a stew  of  beef  and 
potatoes,  roast  veal  with  stewed  prunes,  and  the  usual  con- 
diments, but  no  dessert  or  wine,  unless  extra.  The  tables 
for  dinner  were  set  out  on  the  platform,  under  shade,  and 


FRANKFORT. 


269 


every  thing  neat  and  clean,  and  the  table  furniture  good. 
Beautiful  gardens  are  around  the  railroad  stations : large 
peonies  and  lilacs,  seringas  and  roses,  and  other  flowers  like 
our  own,  in  full  bloom.  We  met  an  excursion  train  with 


Frankfort  Dinner-Table. 

two  or  three  hundred  people,  who  had  left  the  cars  at  a 
way-station  to  get  water  ; and  as  our  train  came  between 
them  and  theirs,  they  were  thrown  into  the  greatest  alarm 
and  confusion,  lest  they  should  be  left  behind.  The  cot- 
tages of  the  peasantry  are  very  neat  and  comfortable  ; no 
signs  of  great  poverty,  no  beggars  at  the  stations.  I have 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


270 

scarcely  been  solicited  by  a beggar  in  Germany.  As  we 
are  going  north,  the  country  appears  less  fertile : there  is 
more  grass  and  less  grain ; few  fruit-trees,  some  apples, 
cherries,  and  pears ; poplar  trees,  sycamores,  and  some  wil- 
lows are  seen.  We  have  ceased  to  see  forests  on  the  line  of 
the  road : we  pass  another  peat-bed,  and  a dozen  women 
are  working  it,  one  man.  overseeing  them. 

At  Nakal  twenty  peasants  were  standing,  each  with  a 
staff  in  hand,  as  if  they  had  just  arrived  from  a journey  on 
foot,  and  were  waiting  for  a train  to  take  them  on  to  the 
seaboard  to  emigrate.  They  were  swarthy,  stout,  and  well 
clad.  They  will  all  be  voters  soon  on  the  other  side  of  the 
sea. 

Two  hundred  miles  from  Berlin,  on  our  way  to  Warsaw, 
we  came  to  Bromberg.  We  had  marked  it  down  as  the  half- 
way place,  and  here  we  were  to  pass  the  night.  We  found 
an  elegant  railroad  station  ; porters  from  three  hotels,  with 
plates  on  their  hats,  begged  the  pleasure  of  our  company  at 
their  respective  houses.  The  Englischer  Hof  had  the  honor 
of  taking  us  in,  and  we  were  hospitably  and  comfortably 
cared  for.  This  city  was  once  in  Poland.  When  the  kingdom 
was  carved  and  partitioned,  this  fell  to  Prussia.  But  Polish 
names  predominate  upon  the  signs,  and  the  Polish  language 
still  prevails.  Its  trade  is  in  wool  and  iron  and  steel,  by  canal 
connecting  it  with  Oder  and  Wexsel.  We  went  to  the  top  of 
a hill  near  the  hotel,  and  found  beautiful  walks  and  seats, 
commanding  fine  \iews  of  the  town.  The  churches  are  both 
Protestant  and  Catholic.  We  were  near  a cemetery,  and  all 
the  tombstones  had  their  inscriptions  in  Hebrew.  It  was  a 
Jewish  burial-place.  Adjoining  it  was  a dead-house,  into 
which  every  dead  person  of  this  people  is  brought,  and 
washed,  and  ceremonially  prepared  for  the  grave.  A young 
man  showed  us  over  the  apartments.  He  seemed  to  be  the 
solitary  dweller  in  this  gloomy  house.  A fine  monument  in 
the  grove  near  by  is  in  memory  of  the  good  citizen  who  had 


FRANKFORT. 


271 


given  the  grounds,  and  embellished  them,  as  a resort  for  the 
people. 

Only  in  Germany  have  we  had  bolsters  in  shape  of  a 
wedge , hard,  and  designed  to  be  laid  with  the  edge  under  the 
shoulders,  making  an  inclined  plane,  from  which  one  is 
slipping  down  all  the  time.  The  old  feather-bed  comforter 
on  top  is  now  dispensed  with  ; but  in  place  of  it  is  a quilt 
inside  of  a sheet,  like  a bag  to  hold  it,  and  a very  uncom- 
fortable thing  to  manage.  It  requires  a deal  of  patience  to 
put  up  with  the  curious  ways  of  other  people ; but  when 
one  gets  used  to  them,  they  are  just  as  well  as  his  own. 

We  were  to  take  an  early  start,  and  the  servant  was  so 
anxious  to  do  his  whole  duty,  that  he  called  us,  as  Samuel 
the  prophet  was  called,  three  times  in  the  course  of  the 
night,  and  finally  succeeded  in  getting  us  out  an  hour  too 
soon.  But  that  was  better  than  to  be  an  hour  too  late,  and 
so  we  had  breakfast,  and  were  off  again  by  the  rail  at  six  in 
the  morning.  By  eight  we  were  at  the  frontier  of  Poland, 
now  Russia.  Our  passports  were  demanded,  and  our  baggage 
searched.  Even  the  little  bags  were  taken  out  of  the  cars 
and  examined.  The  only  article  sought  for  was  tobacco, 
and  nobody  ever  found  a bit  of  that  in  any  luggage  of  mine. 
At  the  station  signs  of  progress  were  evident.  Carts  drawn 
by  oxen  were  loaded  with  brick,  each  brick  twice  as  large  as 
one  of  ours.  Large  iron  pipes  for  aqueducts  were  lying 
around.  A photographic  apparatus,  of  a pattern  quite  novel 
to  me,  was  in  use,  taking  views  of  the  works  going  on.  The 
names  of  all  the  passengers  were  copied  from  their  passports 
into  a register ; the  passports  were  returned  to  their  several 
owners,  then  each  passenger  was  asked  if  he  had  his  pass- 
port, and,  the  formality  being  over,  we  were  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed after  an  hour’s  detention. 

We  are  now  travelling  in  Poland.  We  soon  pass  misera- 
ble dwellings,  half  under  ground,  and  with  stagnant  water 
about  them,  giving  every  appearance  of  unhealthiness  and 


272 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


wretchedness.  Yet  the  country  was  better  tilled  than  in 
Northern  Germany.  We  are  now  on  the  Vistula.  At  one 
of  the  stations  we  saw  a meeting  of  friends,  men  kissing 
each  other  ; young  people  stooped  down,  and  old  men  kissed 
them  on  the  back  of  their  heads.  Elegant  parks  and  gar- 
dens surrounded  the  villa  of  the  Princess  Racziwill.  For 
centuries  it  has  been  the  residence  of  the  titled  and  rich. 

At  half-past  three  p.m.  we  arrived  at  Warsaw.  All  the 
passengers,  as  they  left  the  cars,  were  required  to  give  up 
their  passports  again  ; were  led  into  a room  where  all  ingress 
and  egress  was  cut  off ; here  to  each  person  was  given  a 
receipt  for  his  passport,  and  he  was  required  to  give  the 
name  of  the  house  at  which  he  intended  to  stay,  also  to 
state  when  he  expected  to  leave.  He  was  then  allowed  to 
go.  At  the  door  a metal  check  was  handed  him,  having  on 
it  the  number  of  the  hack  in  which  he  would  ride  ; and  thus, 
with  a deep  conviction  that  we  are  at  last  in  a country 
where  we  are  to  be  looked  after,  we  were  taken  to  our 
hotel. 


WARSAW. 


273 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


WARSAW. 


N the  banks  of  the  Danube,  but  just  where  the  story 


does  not  say,  and  when  it  is  quite  uncertain,  lived  three 
brothers,  whose  names  were  Lekh,  Teckh,  and  Russ.  They 
were  of  the  Slavonian  race.  Ambitious  to  found  distinct 
dynasties  of  their  own,  they  set  off  on  their  travels.  Pres- 
ently three  eagles  appeared,  flying  in  as  many  directions, 
and  the  brothers  instantly  agreed  to  follow  the  birds  and 
the  example.  Russ  went  after  one  of  the  eagles,  and  the 
region  he  went  into  he  called  Russia  ; Teckh  went  to 
Bohemia,  whose  people  were  anciently  called  Teckhs ; and 
Lekh,  led  by  a white  eagle,  came  to  Poland.  The  people 
adopted  the  white  eagle  as  their  national  emblem,  and  they 
were  called  Polekhs,  or  Polaks,  and  in  Shakespeare  the 
people  of  Poland  are  Polaks.  In  some  parts  of  this  country 
the  Poles  are  yet  called  Lekhs.  The  great  importance  of 
this  recondite  history  is  not  very  apparent ; but  it  is  enough 
to  intimate  that  the  origin  of  nations  is  often  involved  in 
obscurity,  and  this  is  specially  true  of  these  northern 
peoples. 

The  history  of  Poland,  through  its  early  centuries  down 
to  1772,  is  one  of  the  most  romantic  in  the  “book  of  time.” 
With  the  coming  of  the  Jesuits  into  Poland  came  trouble, 
as  trouble  always  comes  with  those  pests  of  the  human  race. 
War  with  Russia  followed,  and  the  Polish  territory  east  of 
the  Dnieper,  or  Little  Russia,  was  subjected  to  the  Czar; 
and  by  and  by,  when  the  kingdom  of  Poland  lay  at  the 
mercy  of  three  surrounding  powers,  it  was  “ partitioned  ” 


274 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


between  Russia  and  Prussia  and  Austria.  This  was  but  the 
beginning  of  her  trials.  Never  conquered,  though  always 
overcome,  fighting  for  independent  existence  again  and 
again,  she  has  in  her  death-struggles  shown  a tenacity  of 
life  that  has  commanded  the  admiring  sympathy  of  man- 
kind. Three  times  she  has  been  divided  among  these  de- 
vouring kingdoms  ; and  at  the  settlement  of  1815,  after  the 
battle  of  Waterloo,  when  a new  map  of  Europe  was  made, 
it  was  decided  that  a part  of  Poland,  Galicia,  should  belong 
to  Austria,  Posen  to  Prussia,  and  the  large  part  which 
Napoleon  had  made  into  the  Duchy  of  Warsaw,  should  be  a 
constitutional  monarchy  under  the  Russian  Emperor  as 
King.  In  1830  the  Poles  made  another  insurrection,  and 
when  crushed  they  were  deprived  of  their  constitution, 
their  language  was  proscribed,  and  the  last  vestige  of  their 
nationality  was  beaten  out. 

There  is  a savage  wickedness  in  this  cutting  up  of  nations, 
that  does  not  touch  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  world  as  it 
ought.  To  murder  a man  is  something  palpable,  and  so 
obviously  damnable.  But  to  blot  a nation  out  of  being,  to 
strike  down  the  life  of  a people  and  bury  it  out  of  sight  for 
ever,  this  is  what  has  been  done  for  poor  Poland,  and  we 
have  only  to  drop  a tear  over  her  grave,  enter  a protest  in 
the  name  of  human  rights,  and  pass  on.  The  most  exten- 
sive portion  of  ancient  Poland  is  under  Russia,  the  most 
populous  in  the  grasp  of  Austria,  and  the  most  commercial 
is  held  by  Prussia.  Warsaw  is  the  unwilling  serf  of  Russia. 
The  present  Emperor  has  sought  to  gild  the  chains  that  bind 
this  people  ; but  the  iron  chafes  them,  and  will.  He  restored 
their  language  and  schools  ; a council  of  state  was  formed ; 
all  the  local  officers  were  Poles.  But  nothing  will  satisfy  a 
noble  race  but  to  be  their  own  masters:  in  1863  Warsaw 
was  again  in  insurrection  ; the  men  rushed  to  arms,  the 
women  to  the  altars ; the  streets  ran  blood,  the  weak  sank 
under  the  strong,  and  the  end  came. 


WARSAW. 


275 

The  city  of  Warsaw  has  nearly  200,000  inhabitants.  It 
is  a well-built  town,  modern  in  its  appearance,  with  many 
of  its  streets  straight,  and  having  large  and  handsome 
houses.  It  stands  on  the  Vistula.  It  is  more  gay  and 
attractive  than  you  would  expect  to  find  it,  under  the  heel 
of  an  oppressor,  and  after  years  of  fruitless  struggle  with  a 
crushing  power.  On  every  hand  we  see  the  signs  of  the 
ruler’s  presence,  in  the  persons  of  his  armed  deputies,  the 
soldiers  of  Russia,  who  are  here  to  keep  order  in  Warsaw. 
In  our  hotel,  the  dining-room  is  always  occupied  by  soldiers, 
who  are  eating  and  drinking,  especially  drinking.  “ Sherry 
cobblers”  in  quart  tumblers  are  in  front  of  them,  and  they 
are  sucking  at  them  diligently.  Venice,  under  Austrian 
rule,  was  not  more  vigilantly  guarded  than  Warsaw  is  at 
this  day,  after  a subjugation  that  has  been  endured  for  forty 
years  ! It  will  take  two  or  three  generations  to  make 
Poland  contented  under  foreign  rule,  and  then  the  heredi- 
tary love  of  nationality  will  remain,  and  rise  to  the  surface 
whenever  it  gets  a chance  for  demonstration. 

The  city  has  a very  unfinished  appearance:  there  are 
splendid  public  edifices  near  by  others  that  seem  only  begun, 
or  neglected  in  the  midst  of  building.  Revolutions  and  the 
fears  of  revolution  have  made  its  prosperity  precarious,  and 
the  inhabitants  lack  the  highest  stimulus  to  enterprise  and 
exertion,  the  hope  of  permanent  possession  and  enjoyment. 
The  splendid  government  houses  are  in  many  cases  the 
palaces  of  the  old  Polish  nobility,  now  decayed  or  extinct 
families.  Many  of  the  former  owners,  who  once  rolled  in 
hereditary  wealth,  have  long  since  been  exiled  to  the  deso- 
late wilds  of  Siberia,  and  their  places  will  never  know  them 
again.  A pall,  like  a perpetual  cloud,  is  on  the  face  of 
Poland,  and  by  degrees  the  spirit  of  liberty  will  be  ex- 
tinguished. The  language  and  rule  of  Russia  will  become 
universal.  There  is  no  hope  in  the  future  for  the  nation- 
ality of  Poland. 


276 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


In  1863  a spy  of  the  Russian  government  was  stopping 
at  the  Hotel  de  V Europe  in  Warsaw,  where  we  are  now 
writing ; and,  his  business  being  suspected,  the  patriotic 
Poles,  who  are  not  likely  to  abide  the  presence  of  such  a 
fellow  if  they  know  him,  took  the  liberty  of  murdering  him 
in  his  bed.  The  Russian  government  seized  the  house, 
shut  it  up,  and  for  some  years  it  has  stood  closed,  a monu- 
ment and  a warning.  Russia  will  not  allow  her  spies  to  be 
murdered  without  visiting  her  vengeance  on  the  house  itself 
in  which  the  murder  is  committed.  As  this  hotel  was  for- 
merly the  palace  of  one  of  the  noble  Polish  families,  and 
the  only  hotel  of  large  proportions,  it  was  a serious  injury 
to  the  city  as  well  as  to  the  proprietors.  And  I do  not 
apprehend  that  the  Poles  will  be  any  more  gentle  in  their 
treatment  of  Russian  spies,  because  their  largest  tavern  was 
shut  up  half  a dozen  years. 

Out  of  my  window  I see  a soldier  standing  with  his  back 
against  the  wall ; he  has  a soldier’s  cap  and  long  cloak 
reaching  nearly  to  the  ground ; he  has  been  there  five  or 
six  hours,  marching  now  and  then  a few  rods  and  returning 
to  his  post : five  soldiers  come  and  stand  in  front  of  him, 
one  of  them  takes  off  the  cloak  and  puts  it  on  his  own 
shoulders,  and,  stepping  into  his  place,  mounts  guard ; and 
this  process  is  continued  and  repeated  all  over  the  city,  day 
and  night,  year  after  year.  Thousands  of  Russian  soldiers 
are  thus  quartered  on  the  city  continually*:  lazy,  intemperate,, 
and  licentious,  they  are  a moral  pestilence  ; using  their 
power  to  compel- the  subject  people  to  submit  to  their  inso- 
lence, and  corrupting  by  their  example  and  association  those 
with  whom  they  come  into  contact. 

With  this  admixture  of  foreign  and  native  people,  it  is 
impossible  to  discriminate  between  them  ; but  a more  un- 
mannerly set  of  people  I have  never  met  at  public  places 
than  they  are  here.  The  servants  have  no  manners  but 
bad  manners.  They  enter  your  private  room  without 


WARSAW. 


27; 


knocking  ; they  are  grouty  in  their  address,  sulky  in  their 
answers,  and  generally  disagreeable.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  officers  of  the  hotel : disobliging,  inattentive. 
The  women  appeared  to  be  lively  in  each  other’s  company, 
but  the  men  of  Warsaw  are  grave  and  thoughtful. 

We  rode  in  the  afternoon  through  the  beautiful  parks 
and  meadows  and  groves  where  the  Russian  military  exer- 
cises are  held,  and  through  the  Botanical  Gardens , and  to 
the  Observatory , for  the  pursuit  of  science  has  not  been 
arrested  by  the  revolutions  that  have  overturned  the  govern- 
ment ; and  then  we  came  to  Lazienki,  a splendid  rural 
palace,  built  by  King  Stanislaus  Augustus  Poniatowski. 
Here  the  Emperor  of  Russia  has  his  temporary  abode  when 
he  visits  Warsaw,  which,  by  the  way,  he  does  not  often, 
for  his  presence  is  not  specially  agreeable  to  the  people. 
Beautiful  villas  are  scattered  through  the  park,  the  resi- 
dences of  persons  connected  with  the  court ; fountains 
play,  a beautiful  stream  flows  by,  and  a monument  to  Sobi- 
eski,  John  III.  of  Poland,  stands  conspicuous,  the  sight  of 
which  is  said  to  have  led  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  in  1850, 
after  the  war  in  Hungary,  to  make  the  remark:  “The 
two  kings  of  Poland  that  committed  the  gravest  error  are 
John  III.  and  myself ; for  we  both  saved  the  Aiistrian  mon- 
archy.” It  is  hard  to  say  whether  such  reflections  are 
sound  or  not ; the  rise  and  fall  of  kingdoms  are  all  in  the 
plans  of  Infinite  Wisdom,  and  what  to  us  seems  exceedingly 
desirable  may  be  the  height  of  folly  in  the  eye  of  Him  who 
reads  the  future.  It  is  certainly  not  human  wisdom  that 
has  spared  Austria  or  Turkey  and  sacrificed  Poland,  but  the 
end  may  yet  be  well. 

It  was  dark  when  we  returned  to  the  city.  A feeble 
attempt  at  illumination  was  going  on  in  some  of  the  public 
buildings.  Dim  lights  were  hung  along  some  of  the  walls, 
and  now  and  then  a private  house  had  an  extra  lamp  or  two 
in  its  windows  ! We  inquired  the  cause  of  this  miserable 


278 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


imitation  of  rejoicing,  this  abortive  demonstration.  The 
telegraph  had  brought  the  intelligence  that  to-day  an  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  had  been  made  to  assassinate  the  Emperor 
Alexander.  The  illumination  was  thus  very  satisfactorily 
and  exactly  explained.  The  assassination  was  attempted 
by  a Polander,  and  Poland  would  have  madly  rejoiced  if  it 
had  been  a success.  I was  at  a loss  to  know  whether  the 
illumination  signified  joy  at  the  Emperor’s  escape  from  death 
or  joy  that  his  death  had  been  so  nearly  accomplished.  The 
melancholy  exhibition  of  lights  was  just  enough  to  suggest 
the  two  conflicting  sentiments  ; and  if  the  Russian  soldiers 
and  officials  and  dependants  did  their  duty  in  hanging  out 
the  lamps,  the  inhabitants  of  Warsaw  almost  without  excep- 
tion will  go  to  bed  regretting  that  the  shot  of  the  assassin 
did  not  lodge  in  the  heart  of  the  Emperor  whom  they  regard 
as  their  oppressor. 

The  streets  of  Warsaw  are  badly  paved ; riding  in  some 
of  them  is  a protracted  punishment.  They  are  badly  lighted, 
and  it  is  not  unusual  for  an  ordinance  to  be  in  force  requir- 
ing every  one  going  out  after  dark  to  carry  a light,  under 
pain  of  arrest. 

The  first  drunken  person  I saw  in  the  streets  of  a city  on 
the  Continent  of  Europe  was  here.  In  the  southern  capi- 
tals, as  of  Spain  and  Italy,  and  even  of  France,  there  was 
gayety,  but  not  intemperance.  I had  not  been  long  in  the 
city  before  I saw  a woman  lying  on  the  pavement  dead 
drunk.  And  nobody  seemed  to  heed  the  spectacle,  always 
and  everywhere  disgusting  as  the  most  shameful  exhibition 
of  fallen  humanity.  They  have  their  favorite  vices  in  the 
south  of  Europe,  but  this  of  drunkenness  is  not  one  of 
them.  The  use  of  wine,  light  wine,  is  not  the  'cause  of  the 
sobriety  of  the  people,  though  it  is  a fact  beyond  all  denial 
that  the  wine-growing  countries  are  the  most  temperate 
countries  in  the  world.  Yet  they  are  not  temperate  because 
they  have  wine  to  drink.  They  would  be  just  as  temperate, 


WARSAW. 


279 


and  perhaps  more  so,  if  they  had  no  wine.  They  are  tem- 
perate because  the  climate  does  not  invite  them  to  the 
stimulus  of  alcohol.  That’s  all.  It  is  not  their  virtue,  nor 
their  wine,  that  makes  them  so.  They  are  not  tempted  to 
drink  strong  drink.  As  soon  as  we  get  into  these  northern 
countries  we  find  the  people  making  free  use  of  distilled 
liquors  and  getting  drunk : and  intemperance  is  the  pre- 
vailing vice  of  the  clime,  as  licentiousness  is  the  vice  of  the 
south  of  Europe.  Climate  is  to  be  considered  in  all  our 
studies  of  the  habits  of  a people,  and  it  must  be  allowed  its 
proper  effect  when  we  are  estimating  the  virtues  and  vices 
of  our  fellow-men.  Climate  is  no  excuse  for  wrong-doing, 
but  it  helps  to  know  why  people  fall  into  one  or  another 
class  of  sins. 

On  Sunday,  after  searching  in  vain  to  find  the  English 
service  which  was  said  to  be  performed  in  an  evangelical 
chapel  by  a clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  we  went 
to  the  Lutheran  Church.  Its  dome,  rising  from  an  open 
square,  is  a prominent  object  in  the  city.  The  building 
itself  is  a rotunda , and  very  large.  The  yard  was  filled  with 
all  sorts  of  carriages,  wagons,  droskies,  and  carts,  with 
horses  of  various  grades,  by  which  the  people  had  come  in 
from  the  surrounding  country.  Some  of  these  vehicles  were 
the  rudest  kind  of  rustic  wagons,  and  being  covered  with 
mud,  and  filled  with  straw  as  the  only  seat,  having  no  springs, 
and  long  and  narrow,  indicated  that  the  roads  were  bad,  and 
that  the  people  had  encountered  some  difficulties  in  getting 
to  the  house  of  God.  It  is  rare  to  see  such  a show  of 
teams  about  a city  church.  It  was  all  the  more  interesting 
in  Warsaw,  in  the  heart  of  the  old  kingdom  of  Poland. 

I entered  the  porch,  and  it  was  crowded  by  people  unable 
to  get  into  the  thronged  church.  Looking  over  their  heads, 
I saw  three  successive  galleries  rising  above  each  other ; 
and,  following  the  winding  staircase  in  the  vestibule,  we 
reached  the  first,  and,  unable  to  get  admission  there,  we 


28  o 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


mounted  to  the  second,  which  was  also  full,  and  then  to 
the  third,  where  there  was  plenty  of  room.  A singularly 
imposing  spectacle  was  presented.  The  vast  audience-room 
was  a perfect  circle  ; the  three  galleries  sweeping  com- 
pletely around  to  the  pulpit  and  organ  behind  it.  The 
pews  on  the  ground  floor  were  occupied  by  a class  of  persons 
by  their  dress  and  manner  more  elevated  in  rank  than  the 
others.  The  pew  doors  were  kept  locked,  until  the  sermon 
was  to  be  commenced,  when  they  were  opened,  and  the 
crowd  in  the  porch  were  permitted  to  take  those  not  occu- 
pied by  their  owners.  The  first  gallery  pews  were  filled 
with  plainer  people.  The  second  gallery  had  a set  of  wor- 
shippers whose  coarse  and  humble  attire  indicated  the 
harder  worked  and  poorer  people ; but  their  dress  was 
cleanly,  and  an  air  of  comfort  pervaded  the  whole  assembly. 
The  third  gallery,  into  which  I found  access,  was  not 
seated,  and  the  few  persons  in  it  stood  at  the  front.  It  was 
a sublime  spectacle,  this  crowded  sanctuary,  perhaps  three 
thousand  people,  worshipping  in  a strange  tongue,  and  all 
animated  with  the  spirit  of  the  hour.  Behind  the  pulpit 
was  a life-size  statue  of  the  Saviour  on  the  cross.  In  front 
of  it  four  immense  candles,  each  four  feet  high,  were  burn- 
ing. These  candles  and  statue  would  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  the  Lutheran  was  not  wholly  reformed,  and  that  some 
relics  of  Romanism  still  lingered.  The  minister  read  a 
hymn,  and  around  the  organ  a large  choir  of  young  men 
and  boys,  no  females  in  it,  stood  up  and  sang,  — the  whole 
assembly,  men  and  women,  — with  the  organ,  singing  with 
a mighty  noise.  The  sermon  followed.  The  Polish  is  not 
one  of  the  tongues  with  which  I am  familiar,  and  I shall 
not  undertake  to  pass  an  opinion  upon  the  eloquence  or  the 
orthodoxy  of  the  discourse.  But  the  clear  rich  tones  of  the 
preacher’s  voice  fell  upon  attentive  ears,  and  the  earnest- 
ness of  his  manner  spoke  well  for  him,  though  I could  not 
understand  a word. 


WARSAW. 


281 


At  the  door,  as  I came  out,  there  was  a row  of  mendi- 
cants, not  asking  alms,  but  willing  and  expecting  to  receive 
the  charities  of  those  who  passed,  and  they  were  remem- 
bered by  many.  It  was  an  inoffensive  way  of  begging. 
Whoever  gave  was  moved  to  do  a good  thing  without  being 
importuned. 

The  principal  streets  of  the  city  had  as  many  people  in 
them,  going  to  and  from  church,  as  you  would  see  in  New 
York,  and  so  widely  do  the  fashions  of  Paris  prevail  in  the 
west  and  east  and  north,  that  the  fashionable  people  of  War- 
saw, riding  or  walking,  looked  to  be  the  same  sort  of  people 
that  one  meets  in  cities  with  which  he  is  more  familiar. 

I walked  into  the  Jewish  quarter  of  the  town.  Their 
Sabbath  was  yesterday  ; but  to-day  is  one  of  their  feast- 
days,  and  they  were  all  out  of  doors,  “ a peculiar  people  ” 
everywhere.  The  men  wore  long  frock-coats  reaching  to 
the  ground.  Their  dwellings  were  mostly  mean  and  low  ; 
but  we  saw  women  going  in  and  out  of  them  dressed  in  rich 
silks,  with  splendid  velvet  mantillas,  and  they  were  doubtless 
as  well  off  for  this  world  as  their  people  seem  to  be  in  all 
countries  where  they  have  a chance  t©  live  and  trade.  They 
have  the  best  hospital  in  Warsaw.  They  retain  their 
nationality,  the  expression  of  countenance,  the  curve  of  the 
nose,  the  faculty  of  making  and  keeping  money  wherever 
they  go.  And  they  are  strangely  hated  in  the  Christian 
world  since  they  crucified  the  Lord  of  Glory,  as  the  serpent 
has  been  among  men  since  he  tempted  the  woman  in  Eden. 
Of  the  five  or  six  millions  of  people  in  Poland,  nearly  one 
million  are  Jews.  This  is  a large  proportion,  perhaps  larger 
than  any  other  country  in  Europe. 

There  are  only  about  300,000  Protestants  in  Poland,  and 
when  you  learn  that  of  the  Russian  or  Greek  church  there 
are  but  five  or  six  thousand,  out  of  the  five  or  six  millions, 
you  will  see  one  grand  reason  why  Poland  will  never  be 
submissive  to  the  rule  of  Russia.  Their  religions  are  at 


282 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


war.  Poland  is  intensely  bigoted  in  its  Romanism.  In  the 
public  square  we  see  a statue  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  with  an 
iron  railing  around  it ; flowers  in  pots  are  kept  before  it, 
lamps  by  night  are  burning  in  its  presence,  tumblers  of  oil 
with  lighted  wicks  in  them,  and  an  old  woman  to  light  them 
as  often  as  the  wind  blows  them  out,  and  here  the  people 
are  constantly  coming  and  throwing  themselves  down  on 
the  stones  and  saying  their  prayers  : one  young  man  was 
so  earnest  in  his  devotions,  that  he  prayed  with  a loud 
voice,  regardless  of  those  around  him,  as  if  he  knew  the 
statue  was  quite  deaf  and  could  hear  no  common  prayer. 
In  1863,  the  frightened  people  rushed  to  this  image,  when 
they  saw  that  the  insurrection  was  not  to  be  successful, 
and  the  Russian  troops  charged  upon  the  praying  multitude 
of  men  and  women  and  scattered  them  on  their  knees. 

Before  one  of  the  churches  two  crosses  are  erected,  to 
commemorate  the  union  of  Poland  and  Russia.  Tradition 
says  that  they  also  mark  the  scene  of  the  strangest  duel 
that  was  ever  heard  of,  — two  brothers  being  jealous  of  each 
other  on  account  of  their  own  sister’s  love,  fought  here 
and  slew  each  other.  The  province  of  “Little  Russia” 
lies  between  Russia  proper  and  Poland,  and  for  the  posses- 
sion of  it  the  two  kingdoms  have  fought  till  it  has  some- 
times been  thought  they  would  devour  each  other. 

As  I saw  people  going  into  a court-yard  I followed  them, 
into  a little  chapel,  where  a corpse  was  lying  in  state.  It 
was  of  an  old  man  ; thirty  or  forty  candles  were  burning 
around  him,  but  he  was  raised  on  a platform  so  high  that 
his  face  could  not  be  seen.  Leaving  him,  I came  out  and 
met  a funeral  procession.  The  body  was  borne  in  a hearse, 
surmounted  with  a gorgeous  crimson  canopy,  and  drawn  by 
six  horses  richly  caparisoned  and  led  by  six  grooms.  The 
Emperor  could  not  have  desired  a more  ostentatious  funeral ; 
all  hats  were  removed  as  the  procession  passed,  and  this 
practice,  which  prevails  on  the  Continent  generally,  and 


WARSAW. 


especially  in  France,  is  a beautiful  and  becoming  tribute  of 
respect,  which  I would  be  glad  to  see  prevalent  at  home. 
They  uncover  their  heads  when  the  King  passes  by  ; and 
what  monarch  is  mightier  than  he  to  whom  the  stateliest 
head  must  bow. 

Ours  were  the  only  English  names  on  the  register  of  the 
hotel,  the  largest  in  the  city ; we  called  at  another  hotel, 
and  not  an  English  name  was  there,  and  during  the  three 
days  we  were  in  Warsaw  we  did  not  hear  a word  of  our 
tongue,  except  when  we  spoke  ourselves.  We  were  not, 
however,  as  much  disturbed  by  this  as  the  lady  was  in  Paris, 
who  was  out  of  all  patience  and  spirits  hearing  nothing  but 
French  day  after  day.  One  morning  she  heard  a cock 
crowing,  and  exclaimed,  “Thank  God,  there’s  somebody 
who  speaks  English.” 


Polish  Peasants. 


284 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

FROM  WARSAW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 

'VX  TE  were  to  leave  Warsaw  in  the  course  of  the  forenoon. 

* * At  half-past  eight  we  came  downstairs,  and  found 
the  breakfast-room  closed,  and  nobody  up  in  the  house  who 
could  provide  the  morning  repast.  As  time  was  precious, 
we  went  out  to  another  hotel,  and  it  was  still  closed ; when 
at  nine  o’clock  we  succeeded  in  getting  in,  there  was  no  one 
stirring  but  the  landlord  himself,  and  he  managed  to  get 
breakfast  for  us  with  his  own  hands.  Returning  to  our 
own  hotel  we  called  for  the  bill,  and  found  the  prices  for 
rooms  and  board  one-third  more  than  we  were  assured  they 
would  be,  by  the  same  man  who  now  made  the  charges.  I 
mention  all  these  little  things  to  show  the  ways  of  the  world 
we  are  travelling  in.  We  do  not  remember  any  country, 
nor  any  hotel,  where  we  were  more  systematically  imposed 
on,  and  where  we  got  so  little  for  so  much,  as  at  the  Hotel 
I’ Europe,  the  largest  and  most  pretentious  house  in  Poland. 

We  rode  from  the  hotel  across  the  Vistula,  over  a new 
and  splendid  bridge,  and  found  the  railroad  station  a mile 
beyond.  It  is  put  at  this  safe  and  very  inconvenient  dis- 
tance from  the  town  to  be  secure  against  sudden  outbreaks 
of  popular  violence.  The  people  are  of  the  excitable  order, 
and  this  road  is  the  grand  route  between  Warsaw  and 
St.  Petersburg,  over  which  their  Russian  masters  come  to 
govern  the  Poles.  The  young  man  selling  tickets  was  civil, 
and  he  was  the  first  man  who  had  spoken  civilly  to  us  since 
we  entered  unhappy  Poland.  The  Russian  officials  at  the 


FROM  WARSAW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 


285 


station  were  all  civil.  Before  we  could  purchase  our  tickets 
our  passports  were  examined,  and  a “ ticket  of  leave  ” was 
given  us,  for  which  we  paid  thirty  copakes,  about  twenty 
cents.  We  paid  a cent  for  the  baggage  check.  The  cars 
were  splendid  ; the  first  and  second  class  had  spring  seats, 
cushioned,  with  racks  for  parcels  ; and  the  second  class  was 
quite  as  good  as  the  first  in  France  or  Germany.  The  pas- 
sengers were  very  few  ; the  train,  the  only  one  for  the  day, 
had  but  three  cars,  and  none  were  full.  We  had  an  apart- 
ment for  six  entirely  to  ourselves,  two  of  us. 

We  rush  out  into  a vast  prairie  country,  very  sparsely 
inhabited,  but  well  cultivated  ; large  herds  of  cattle  were 
grazing  on  the  plains  ; pine  groves  were  frequent ; the 
north  side  of  trees  was  torn  by  winter  storms  ; houses 
were  thatched  with  straw,  and  appeared  to  be  miserable 
abodes  for  the  poor  inhabitants  ; they  became  poorer  as  we 
went  north,  sometimes  partly  under  ground.  They  are 
now  more  scattered  ; fewer  villages ; but  they  are  doubtless 
more  frequent  off  the  line  of  railroad,  which  may  be  laid 
through  parts  of  the  country  less  settled  than  others.  The 
peasants  in  their  rude  working  clothes  had  a wretched 
look,  and  the  women  were  all  barefooted.  We  passed  a 
village  that  seemed  to  be  Jewish,  the  men  and  boys  being 
clad  in  long  coats,  such  as  we  saw  on  the  Jews  in  War- 
saw. Once  in  every  half-mile,  on  the  road,  was  a neat 
house  for  the  railroad  man,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that 
the  road  is  in  perfect  order.  These  houses  are  numbered 
in  order,  over  the  whole  route  ; they  are  of  brick  or  stone, 
small,  warm,  and  substantial,  with  a little  ornament.  The 
idea  is  excellent.  A man  thus  provided  for  is  impelled  by 
his  highest  interests  to  be  vigilant  and  faithful ; and  it 
would  be  strange,  indeed,  if  the  road  were  ever  suffered  to 
be  out  of  order  for  a moment  with  such  care.  The  road 
is  solid,  a single  track  with  frequent  turnouts,  and  the 
cars  run  smoothly.  At  every  cross-road  for  wagons  a man 


286 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


stands  keeping  guard.  Accidents  must  be  very  rare  on  a 
road  so  managed. 

We  stop  at  Lapy,  on  the  river  Narev,  for' dinner ; they 
give  us  good  soup,  stewed  veal,  and  potatoes,  and  a ball  of 
forced  meat,  and  charge  us  about  fifty  cents,  two  or  three 
times  as  much  as  it  was  worth,  but  they  do  not  expect  to 
entertain  you  twice  ; certainly  we  do  not  expect  to  dine  at 
Lapy  again. 

At  Bialystok,  the  next  station,  a lady  left  the  cars  and 
was  met  by  a young  man,  perhaps  her  son,  in  military 
dress  ; they  kissed  each  other  four  times,  and  he  then 
kissed  her  hand,  and  the  salutations  were  completed. 
Many  Jewish  women  were  out  to-day,  which  is  one  of 
their  feasts ; the  cross-roads  were  thronged  with  Jews, 
who  seemed  to  be  gathering  there  to  see  the  cars  pass- 
ing ; they  were  not  allowed  on  the  track  or  on  the  side 
of  the  railroad,  but  must  keep  themselves  on  the  wagon- 
roads,  where  they  crossed  the  track.  This  town  of  Bialy- 
stok is  quite  an  important  place  of  16,000  people,  on  the 
borders  of  the  old  kingdom,  and  in  the  cutting  up  of  the 
country  it  has  sometimes  been  Prussia,  sometimes  Russia, 
and  aforetime  Poland.  It  is  now  Russia,  of  course.  We 
come  on  to  Grodno,  with  its  20,000  inhabitants,  which  is  a 
large  town  in  Russia  proper,  and  we  feel  a pleasant  relief 
in  being  within  the  bounds  of  the  empire  itself,  though 
even  this  was  once  in  Poland,  and  the  residence  of  some 
of  her  kings.  Here  sat  the  diets,  or  congress,  of  Poland, 
and  even  that  most  celebrated  of  all  of  them,  the  diet  of 
1793,  which  gave  its  consent  to  the  partition  of  Poland. 
Here,  too,  the  last  king  of  Poland,  Stanislaus  Augustus 
Poniatowski,  laid  down  his  sceptre.  We  find  the  Jews, 
in  great  numbers,  out  on  a holiday ; the  grand-high-priest, 
with  his  gorgeous  breastplate  on,  with  long  hair,  as  if  it 
had  never  been  cut  and  he  were  a Nazarene  from  his  birth. 
We  are  now  travelling  in  Lithuania,  once  a duchy,  whose 


FROM  WARSAW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 


287 


duke  married  the  Queen  of  Poland,  by  name  Hedwiga,  in 
1386.  This  union  made  Poland  powerful  to  resist  the 
Tartars  and  the  Dukes  of  Moscow,  and  to  maintain  the 
independence  of  the  kingdom  for  a long  series  of  years. 
The  union  of  Lithuania  and  Poland  continued  until  the 
third  partition  in  1795.  The  country  appears  poorer  as 
we  advance ; the  soil  is  less  fertile ; there  is  more  sandy 
and  barren  waste.  Pines  and  firs  and  white  birches  are 
the  trees  we  see  now  ; the  houses  of  the  peasants  are  low 
and  poor ; we  have  long  since  ceased  to  see  improvements 
about  the  railroad  stations ; we  are  getting  into  regions  of 
less  civilization.  As  far  as  the  eye  reaches  away  to  the 
horizon,  no  hills  are  in  sight.  It  was  across  these  wide 
plains  that  the  great  French  captain  led  his  hosts  to  in- 
vade Russia,  sixty  years  ago ! We  shall  be  frequently  on 
the  track  of  that  army’s  awful  march,  and  its  disastrous 
retreat.  We  have  come  to  Kowno,  where  the  rivers  Vilia 
and  Niemen  meet.  Here  the  French  army  crossed  the 
Niemen,  June  23,  1812,  on  their  way  to  Moscow,  and  a 
gentle  rise  of  ground,  on  the  bank,  is  still  called  Napo- 
leon’s Hill.  It  was  a mighty  host  when  it  was  here  in 
June.  All  the  annals  of  war  and  of  the  world  furnish 
no  parallel  to  the  story  of  that  campaign  ; it  was  an 
epitome  of  Napoleon’s  whole  career.  But  it  is  rare  that 
marble  is  so  modest  as  the  monument  which  the  Russians 
have  set  up  at  Kowno  to  commemorate  the  miserable 
failure  of  Napoleon’s  stupendous  plan  of  subjugating 
Russia.  In  the  centre  of  the  market-place  they  have  set 
up  a stone  bearing  this  significant  inscription,  — 

“In  1812,  Russia  was  invaded  by  an  army  numbering  700,000  men. 
The  army  recrossed  the  frontier,  numbering  70,000.” 

When  Napoleon  entered  Wilna  on  his  fatal  march  to 
Moscow,  he  occupied  the  same  rooms  in  the  episcopal 
palace  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  had  hastily  vacated  the 


288 


ALHAMBRA-  AND  KREMLIN. 


day  before.  We  shall  not  have  the  same  apartments,  but 
we  are  here  at  the  same  season  of  the  year;  it  was  June 
2 8,  1812,  when  the  French  army  took  possession  of  Wilna, 
the  Russians  having  evacuated  it  in  the  night. 

We  had  been  riding  eleven  hours  steadily,  yet  the  cars 
were  so  comfortable,  the  road  so  smooth,  and  the  motion 
so  easy  and  gentle,  that  we  had  suffered  little  fatigue. 
The  scenery  had  been  improving.  The  country  was 
more  uneven,  rolling,  and  actually  rising  sometimes  to 
the  dignity  of  hills,  until  we  were  able  and  obliged  to  pass 
through  a tunnel,  being  our  first  experience  of  the  kind  in 
some  days,  so  level  had  been  the  regions  through  which 
we  had  travelled.  Wilna  is  surrounded  by  hills,  and  en- 
joys a river  flowing  out  of  the  valley,  and  the  ravines  are 
filled  with  birch  and  larches,  giving  something  of  the  life 
and  beauty  of  verdure,  which  is  quite  inspiring  in  this 
latitude.  In  the  fourteenth  century  the  people  here  were 
pagans,  and  a fire  was  kept  burning  day  and  night  at 
the  foot  of  one  of  the  castle-crowned  hills.  The  ruins  of 
the  castle,  which  was  reared  in  1323,  are  still  visible  on  the 
summit.  What  a history  of  war,  famine,  and  fire  these 
intervening  centuries  have  seen.  Thirty  thousand  inhab- 
itants were  destroyed  by  famine  in  one  year,  1710,  and  five 
years  afterwards  nearly  the  whole  town  was  burned.  The 
people  are  still  impatient  of  the  Russian  yoke.  They  are 
always  ready  for  an  outbreak.  In  1831,  they  tried  and 
failed  ; and  in  1862  they  made  a desperate  effort,  and  the 
leaders  of  the  movement  were  summarily  hung  or  shot. 

The  beauties  of  travel  in  Russia  begin  to  be  seen  even 
in  the  dark.  We  are  in  the  station,  in  the  midst  of  a crowd 
of  people,  who  seem  to  be  talking  all  the  languages  of 
Babel ; such  a jargon  does  the  Russian,  Polish,  and  German 
make,  when  all  are  spoken  at  the  same  time  by  an  im- 
patient multitude.  We  are  to  wait  an  hour,  for  the  train 
to  leave,  and  that  will  bring  it  near  to  midnight.  If  we 


FROM  WARSAW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG.  289 

spend  the  night  here,  there  is  no  train  until  to-morrow 
night  at  the  same  hour,  and  we  shall  therefore  be  as  badly 
off  when  it  comes.  It  is  better  to  go  on  and  make  a night 
of  it.  Twelve  hours  will  bring  us  to  St.  Petersburg,  and 
then  we  can  rest.  There  are  no  sleeping  cars.  We  must 
sit  up  or  lounge  the  best  way  we  can.  It  is  now  eleven 
o’clock  and  is  getting  to  be  dark.  But  we  are  so  far  north 
that  the  days  are  long,  and  the  night  will  be  very  short. 
At  midnight  we  curl  up  in  the  corner  of  the  seat,  and  the 
train  starts  as  we  go  to  sleep.  At  two  o’clock  in  the  morn- 
ing we  awake,  and  it  is  broad  daylight ! At  three  we  enter 
Diuiciberg,  a large  town  of  small  houses  ; 27,000  inhabitants  : 
the  most  of  the  buildings  are  of  wood,  and  only  one  story 
high,  like  the  little  farm-houses  scattered  over  the  country. 
It  is  well  fortified,  though  it  is  hardly  worth  fighting  about. 
John  the  Terrible  captured  Dunaberg  in  1577,  and  the 
Swedes  took  it  in  1600.  The  railroad  station-house  towers 
above  the  dwellings,  that  look  like  ant-hills  scattered 
around.  We  stop  a few  minutes  only,  and  push  on  through 
vast  quantites  of  charcoal  and  railroad  fuel  collected  here, 
and  pine  forest  succeed,  and  white  birch-trees,  and  over  a 
fiat,  uninteresting  country.  The  sun  rose  between  four  and 
five  o’clock,  and  at  a wayside  station  we  were  refreshed 
with  a cup  of  coffee.  The  night  was  over,  and  the  shortest 
I ever  spent  with  my  clothes  on.  We  now  pass  tilled  fields, 
and  at  one  time  we  counted  twenty  villages  of  low,  small 
houses  in  sight  at  one  time,  as  we  rushed  along.  The 
grain  is  well  up,  and  with  a warm  summer  will  come  to 
maturity.  Wide  tracts  of  land  are  destitute  of  vegetation  ; 
and  with  the  evidences  of  want  of  agricultural  knowledge, 
and  the  brevity  of  the  summer,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  these 
crowded  villages  may  be  pinched  for  want  of  food  in  a bad 
season.  These  famines  have  sometimes  reached  the  cities, 
and  the  sufferings  of  Moscow  in  1600  were  not  exceeded 
by  the  horrors  of  Jerusalem  besieged  by  Titus.  One  hun- 

*9 


290 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


dred  and  twenty-seven  thousand  dead  bodies  remained  for 
some  days  unburied  in  the  streets,  and  500,000  perished. 

The  peasants  are  astir  in  the  early  morning  at  their  work 
in  the  fields.  They  are  decently  clad,  and  have  the  appear- 
ance of  being  “ comfortable  ; ” they  and  their  houses  indi- 
cating that  they  have  time  and  inclination  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  They  are  no  longer  serfs.  This  term  is  not 
the  same  as  slave.  The  serf  was  sold  with  the  land  on 
which  he  worked,  not  away  from  it,  or  without  it.  So  long 
ago  as  1597,  a decree  was  issued  forbidding  peasants  to 
leave  the  lands  on  which  they  were  at  that  time  employed. 
This  made  every  working-man  a fixture  on  the  land  of  the 
landholder.  At  a date  even  earlier  than  this,  they  were 
forbidden  to  leave  except  at  stated  periods,  but  the  com- 
plete attachment  by  statute  of  the  husbandmen  to  the  soil 
did  not  take  place  until  the  sixteenth  century.  This  con- 
tinued to  be  the  established  order  of  things  until  the  acces- 
sion of  Alexander  II.  to  the  throne  in  1856.  The  serfdom 
of  Russia  was  not  absolute  slavery.  It  did  not  subject  the 
man  to  the  unrestricted  will  of  the  master.  The  peasant 
remained  the  tiller  of  the  same  soil,  and  changed  his  master 
only  when  the  soil  changed  owners.  But  the  grievance 
was  inexpressibly  great.  In  some  cases  it  worked  extraor- 
dinary results.  The  serf  sometimes  by  energy  and  ability 
became  a man  of  wealth  and  power.  But  he  was  under  a 
social  ban  that  kept  him  down  as  color  depresses  the  black 
man.  The  reign  of  the  present  Emperor  has  been  marked 
by  the  introduction  of  great  and  beneficent  reforms.  Rail- 
ways were  begun,  and  a new  impulse  given  to  trade  at 
home  and  foreign  commerce.  The  manumission  of  the 
serfs  had  long  been  discussed,  but  an  opposition  from  the 
nobility  had  been  too  formidable  to  make  it  safe.  In  1838, 
some  of  the  nobles  petitioned  for  the  abolition.  In  1859, 
the  nobles  of  Lithuania  offered  to  free  their  serfs.  A gen- 
eral plan  was  then  devised  for  the  whole  empire,  and  by  a 


FROM  WARSAW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 


29I 


decree  of  March  3,  1861,  about  twenty-three  millions  of 
people  were  raised  to  the  enjoyment  of  civil  rights.  A cer- 
tain amount  of  land,  varying  in  different  districts  from  two 
and  a half  to  ten  acres,  was  allotted  to  each  peasant.  He 
is  allowed  to  acquire  more  land  by  purchase.  A board  of 
arbitrators,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  regulate  the 
price  and  terms  of  payment  to  the  original  owners.  The 
government  advances  the  purchase-money  to  the  peasant  in 
the  form  of  a five  per  cent  bond,  and  this  the  proprietor 
receives  for  his  land,  and  the  government  takes  the  pay- 
ment of  the  peasant  by  instalments,  through  a series  of 
years.  The  districts,  or  towns,  being  made  responsible  for 
this  repayment  to  the  government,  a wholesome  restraint 
is  put  upon  the  inhabitants,  by  which  they  are  kept  within 
bounds  until  this  debt  is  paid.  Thus  the  entire  population 
is  made  interested  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  great 
work.  The  nobles  who  were  the  proprietors  of  the  soil, 
receive  government  bonds  bearing  interest,  and  thus  de- 
rive a fixed  income,  while  each  peasant  becomes  an  inde- 
pendent landed  proprietor.  The  change  has  been  effected 
with  no  convulsion,  and  is  gradually  becoming  a settled  and 
peaceful  state  of  things.  A few  outbreaks  occurred  at  the 
time,  chiefly  from  want  of  understanding  the  plan,  and  on 
the  whole  it  has  worked  well. 

This  beneficent  reform  has  been  effected  without  passion, 
and  with  the  intelligent  approbation  of  the  masters  who 
were  by  a single  decree  deprived  of  23,000,000  of  bondmen. 
The  original  owners  of  the  soil  are  not  reduced  to  poverty 
by  the  emancipation  of  their  men.  The  men  are  not 
turned  loose  upon  the  world  without  means  to  earn  their 
living,  and  without  incentives  to  industry.  The  govern- 
ment is  not  made  to  bear  the  expense  of  supporting  them, 
or  of  finding  work  for  them  to  do.  The  emancipated  man 
is  at  once  put  into  a position  to  earn  his  living  where  he 
has  always  lived.  The  master  is  left  with  a large  surplus 


292 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


of  soil,  which  he  may  cultivate  with  hired  labor,  which  must 
be  abundant,  when  the  peasants  have  but  small  farms  of 
their  own,  which  are  easily  and  chiefly  tilled  by  the  women. 
And  this  work  has  been  accomplished  with  so  much  moder- 
ation, wisdom,  and  justice,  as  to  compel  the  approbation  of 
every  enlightened  judgment  and  conscience.  It  is  in  most 
aspects  of  the  case  a model  plan  of  emancipation. 

It  seems  strange  to  me  that  this  rapid  travel  is  hurrying 
me  on  to  St.  Petersburg ! The  cathedral  and  churches  of 
Pskof  are  before  us,  and  we  stop  for  breakfast.  We  enter 
the  breakfast-room  and  find  the  dishes  laid  ; each  one  helps 
himself  to  whatever  he  wishes,  and  pays  for  what  he  takes ; 
not  a word  being  necessary,  except  to  learn  the  price  of  the 
food. 

A lady  and  gentleman  were  walking  up  and  down  on 
the  platform,  both  smoking.  We  are  coming  to  a city  where 
smoking  in  the  streets  is  prohibited  by  law.  The  peculiar 
garb  of  the  rustic  Russian  is  seen  on  the  men  around  the 
station.  They  wear  long  woollen  coats,  reaching  nearly 
to  the  ground.  A girdle  is  about  the  middle.  The  hat 
is  a low-crowned  beaver,  and  rapidly  expanding  toward 
the  top. 


ST.  PETERSBURG. 


293 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ST.  PETERSBURG. 

"VX  7E  were  in  Russia,  at  Warsaw.  At  that  point  in  the 
* * journey  we  were  put  through  a searching  process, 
and  the  result  having  satisfied  the  officials  that  we  were  not 
of  the  dangerous  classes,  and  had  no  designs  upon  the  life 
of  the  Emperor,  or  the  emancipation  of  Poland,  we  had 
been  allowed  to  enter.  And  now  that  we  had  come  to 
St.  Petersburg,  there  was  no  need  of  overhauling  us  again, 
for  we  had  been  certified  to  already.  We  were  as  free  on 
arriving  at  the  capital  as  if  we  had  come  to  New  York. 

At  the  station-house  we  were  reminded  at  once  that  we 
were  in  a strange  land,  by  the  peculiar  costume  of  the  por- 
ters and  drivers,  who  were  as  numerous  and  noisy  as  at 
home.  They  wore  low-crown  hats,  with  bevelled  rims  ; 
long  coats  reaching  to  the  feet,  and  a belt  about  their  loins. 
They  were  as  clamorous  for  hire  as  in  more  civilized  coun- 
tries, but  they  pulled  and  hauled  less.  It  was  easy  to  see 
that  the  hand  of  government  was  upon  this  most  ungovern- 
able class  of  men.  We  found  the  same  kind  of  omnibuses 
that  run  in  our  own  streets,  and  on  the  one  inscribed  with 
the  name  of  the  hotel  .to  which  we  were  bound  we  took  our 
seats,  and  were  soon  riding  over  the  roughest  paved  streets 
that  ever  disgraced  a city.  For  a long  series  of  years 
St.  Petersburg  was  unpaved.  At  length  an  imperial  decree 
was  issued  that  every  vehicle  coming  into  the  city  should 
bring  a certain  number  of  stones  to  be  left  for  paving.  If 
each  carriage  had  dumped  its  load,  without  regard  to  size 


ST.  PETERSBURG. 


295 


or  order,  just  where  it  happened,  the  result  would  have 
been  about  the  same  as  we  found  and  felt  the  state  of  the 
streets  to  be,  as  we  were  bounced  and  tumbled  on  our  way 
to  the  Hotel  de  France. 

The  manager  of  the  hotel  bade  us  welcome  in  good  Eng- 
lish. We  were  grimed  with  the  dust  of  thirty  hours’  steady 
railroad  travel,  and  the  luxury  of  a bath  was  more  enjoyable 
than  bed  or  board.  The  Russian  is  a very  different  bath 
from  the  Turkish,  where  to  the  preliminaries  of  warm  air 
to  set  the  system  into  a perspiration  is  added  the  thorough 
and  plentiful  scrubbing  with  hot  water,  poured  on  merci- 
lessly. The  Russian  is  the  vapor  bath  only,  and  its  effect 
is  to  open  all  the  pores  of  the  skin,  to  empty  them  com- 
pletely as  the  streams  of  perspiration  gush  from  every  little 
mouth,  and  to  incite  a pleasurable  languor,  when  all  sense 
of  weariness,  soreness,  or  stiffness  is  gradually  steamed 
away.  The  Russian  dinner  that  followed  was  of  the  best : 
soup,  fish,  cutlet,  roast  beef,  partridges,  vegetables,  and 
varied  dessert.  Wines  or  not,  as  you  choose  to  order. 

To  see  a city  whose  language  is  not  one  of  your  accom- 
plishments, you  must  have  a guide,  a commissionaire , a 
valet  de  place.  Now  we  knew  precious  little  of  the  Russ. 
We  had  picked  up  a little  Polish  — mark,  I do  not  say  pol- 
ish— at  Warsaw,  and  had  startled  the  natives  by  sudden 
outbreaks  in  what  we  supposed  to  be  perfectly  proper  lan- 
guage, but  which  only  served  to  awaken  their  pity  or  make 
them  laugh  ; but  the  Russian  is  another  thing,  and  not 
expecting  to  spend  a winter  here,  nor  to  study  the  literature 
of  the  country,  we  had  given  no  time  to  the  language.  We 
must  have  some  one  to  be  our  mouth  to  the  people,  some- 
body who  could  answer  a thousand  questions  out  of  his 
own  stores  of  information,  or  serve  as  our  interpreter  when 
we  attempted  to  get  it  out  of  others. 

In  the  city  of  St.  Petersburg  resides  an  old  Englishman 
whose  name  is  Russel.  He  has  an  understanding  with  the 


296 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


hotel  men  that  whenever  a guide  is  wanted  by  travellers, 
he  is  to  be  sent  for,  and  at  our  intimation  he  made  his 
appearance,  and  very  respectfully  offered  his  services  to 
make  us  familiar  with  the  lions  of  the  town.  Mr.  Russel 
is  a venerable  man  in  years,  having  completed  his  three- 
score and  ten  some  time  since.  Half  a century  of  these 
years  he  has  dwelt  in  this  capital  of  the  Russian  empire, 
and  toiled  in  this  interesting  service  of  expounding  its 
wonders  to  the  visitors  from  other  countries.  Mr.  Russel 
has  become  so  familiar  with  the  objects  of  interest  in  his 
adopted  city,  that  he  imagines  his  strangers  to  be  equally 
familiar  with  them,  and  in  no  need  of  being  enlightened. 
He  is  so  far  gone  in  the  loss  of  his  faculties,  if  he  ever 
had  any  great  quantity  to  lose,  that  a question  must  be 
proposed  to  him  often  and  in  many  forms,  before  he  com- 
prehends it,  and  when  he  answers,  you  are  not  sure  that 
he  understood  you,  or  that  he  knows  any  thing  about  the 
matter.  He  never  speaks  except  when  he  is  spoken  to, 
unless  to  tell  you  something  you  knew  before,  or  that  was 
not  worth  knowing.  He  would  pass  the  most  important 
and  interesting  buildings  or  monuments  or  historic  places 
in  the  city,  and  not  mention  them,  unless  you  asked  him, — 
“What’s  that?”  Yet  he  was  very  English.  He  dropped 
the  H invariably.  He  exaspirated  his  vowels  most  unmer- 
cifully. Pointing  to  the  tombs  of  the  kings  and  royal 
family,  he  said : “ That’s  the  hare  to  the  throne ; that’s 
his  haunt , and  there’s  his  huncle'.'  In  a picture-gallery  we 
came  to  Danae,  and  he  was  kind  enough  to  say,  “ That’s  a 
woman,  I believe,”  and  there  was  not  much  room  for  doubt 
on  the  subject;  and  in  a group  of  mythological  sculpture 
he  remarked  for  our  information,  “That’s  Jupiter,  — these 
is  all  gods.” 

This  was  the  intelligent  man  who  was  to  make  us  ac- 
quainted with  the  city  of  St.  Petersburg.  If  you  are  to 
be  told  only  what  he  could  tell  me,  it  would  not  be  worth 


ST.  PETERSBURG. 


2.97 


while  to  read  any  further.  But  we  have  eyes  and  ears  of 
our  own,  and  already  the  barbaric  splendor  of  this  northern 
capital  is  breaking  upon  us.  You  shall  have  our  first  im- 
pressions and  our  last,  for  we  have  made  two  visits  here, 
and  have  become  familiar  with  the  city,  if  not  in  love  with 
it.  It  is  not  a city  to  go  into  raptures  over.  Perhaps  it 
" will  become  beautiful  one  day.  But  nothing  in  it  is  fin- 
ished. Streets  with  palaces  on  them  are  still  disfigured 
with  insignificant  and  miserable  dwellings.  Palaces  are 
not  completed.  Wealth  has  been  lavished,  but  nothing  is 
done.  It  resembles  our  own  capital  in  this,  that  its  public 
buildings  are  far  apart,  and  the  city  is  not  half  built  up. 

In  the  year.  1703,  Peter  the  Great  began  to  build  a city, 
to  be  called  after  his  own  name.  He  selected  a miserable 
site  on  the  banks  of  the  Neva,  and  here  he  gathered  a host 
of  Russians,  Tartars,  Kalmucks,  and  Fins,  and  set  them 
at  this  stupendous  work.  We  expect  to  grow  as  the 
people  want  houses  to  live  in.  Peter  built  a city,  and 
then  looked  for  people  to  come  and  find  it.  The  little 
cottage  that  he  built  for  himself  on  the  shore  is  still 
standing  where  he  placed  it,  and  the  tools  with  which 
he  worked,  with  his  own  industrious  and  skilful  hands. 
For  several  successive  years,  40,000  men  were  annually 
raised  by  draft,  as  for  an  army,  to  come  from  distant  parts 
of  the  empire  and  build.  The  nobility  of  Russia  came  and 
caused  residences  to  be  reared  for  them,  when  they  saw 
that  Moscow  was  no  longer  to  be  the  capital.  Peter  died, 
and  Catharine  I.  did  not  push  on  the  work  with  energy. 
Her  successor,  Peter  II.,  loved  Moscow  more,  and  died 
there.  Anne,  the  empress,  adopted  Petersburg  as  her 
residence,  and  it  flourished  under  her  reign.  Catharine 
strove  hard  to  defend  it  from  the  inroads  of  the  river,  but 
it  lies  so  low  that  no  art  can  avert  inundations.  It  lies  in 
the  midst  of  waters,  a vast  morass.  Canals  easily  traverse 
its  bosom.  Bridges  and  islands  and  quays  are  part  of  the 


298 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


streets  and  squares  of  the  city.  The  houses  are  too  many 
for  the  inhabitants.  The  thoroughfares  are  never  thronged. 
You  may  walk  long  streets  and  scarcely  meet  a person. 
Half  a million  is  the  number  of  its  inhabitants,  but  there 
is  room  for  many  more. 

The  contrasts  are  more  sudden  and  striking  than  in 
other  capitals.  The  rich  are  very  rich  ; the  poor  are  very 
poor.  Society  is  rigid  in  its  laws.  The  nobles  have  no 
sympathies  with  the  serf,  though  a serf  no  longer.  Caste 
is  stronger  in  Russia  than  in  England. 

But  I am  impatient  to  be  out  in  the  town,  sight-seeing. 
It  is  a very  hot  day,  and  I asked  Russel  if  they  often  had 
such  hot  weather  in  June.  “Well,”  he  said,  “sometimes 
it  is  ’ot  as  this,  and  sometimes  not  so  ’ot : it  depends  very 
much  on  the  weather ; ” and  with  this  profound  observation 
he  led  the  way  into  the  city. 

It  was  but  a step  from  our  lodgings,  under  the  arch  that 
divides  and  connects  the  state  apartments  into  the  grand 
square  in  front  of  the  Winter  Palace,  the  residence  of  the 
Emperor  of  Russia. 

But  before  us  rises  a red  granite  column,  the  grandeur 
and  beauty  of  which  instantly  fix  the  eye.  A single  stone, 
eighty-four  feet  high  and  fifty  feet  in  circumference, — 
the  loftiest  single  shaft  of  modern  times,  only  less  in 
height  than  Pompey’s  Pillar,  — stands  in  the  midst  of  the 
square,  surmounted  by  an  angel  and  the  cross.  The  ped- 
estal bears  a brief  inscription,  but  it  tells  the  whole  story,  — 
“ Grateful  Russia  to  Alexander  I.”  Originally  this  stone 
was  cut  out  of  the  mountain,  104  feet  long,  and  the  order 
was  to  make  the  loftiest  monolith  in  the  world ; but  from 
fear  that  it  was  too  long  to  stand  firmly  on  its  base,  which 
was  fourteen  feet  in  diameter,  it  was  shortened  to  its 
present  length.  With  incredible  labor  it  was  erected  upon 
a pedestal  twenty-five  feet  high,  and  there,  polished,  it 
stands,  perhaps  the  most  splendid  shaft  that  now  presses 


ST.  PETERSBURG. 


. 2 99 


upon  the  earth.  It  seemed  to  grow  as  I gazed  upon  it. 
And  daily  as  I caught  sight  of  it  from  other  parts  of  the 
city,  or  as  I drove  into  the  magnificent  area  of  which  it  is 
the  central  figure,  its  simple  majesty  and  exceeding  beauty 
impressed  me  more  and  more.  What  vast  labor  it  cost  to 
bring  this  block  from  the  mountains  of  Finland,  and  plant 
it  perpendicularly  on  the  banks  of  the  Neva,  in  the  heart 
of  the  city ! 

In  the  Admiralty  Square  is  a more  famous  statue,  and 
one  of  which  we  have  heard  from  childhood ; pictures  of  it 
had  made  it  so  familiar  that  it  seemed  an  old  acquaintance, 
— Peter  the  Great,  the  founder  of  the  city,  its  inventor 
and  builder,  is  on  horseback,  riding  up  a rock,  to  the  verge 
of  which  he  has  come,  when  he  reins  in  his  steed  and  sits 
looking  upon  the  river  and  the  city  he  has  raised  upon  its 
banks.  The  horse  is  rearing,  and  the  immense  weight 
rests  upon  his  hinder  legs  and  the  tail,  which  touches  a 
huge  serpent,  coiled  at  the  horse’s  feet.  This  is  deservedly 
reckoned  one  of  the  finest,  equestrian  statues,  and  it  honors 
the  most  extraordinary  man  of  his  age. 

Two  boys  were  together  crowned  as  Czars  of  Russia,  at 
Moscow,  by  the  Greek  patriarch,  on  the  15  th  of  June,  1682. 
They  were  brothers,  and  one  of  them . soon  yielded  to  the 
superior  energy  of  the  other,  and  resigning  his  share  of 
the  government,  left  Peter  the  sole  sovereign  of  an  empire 
but  little  above,  the  range  of  barbarism.  This  Peter,  who 
became  Peter  the  Great,  was  then  but  seventeen  years 
old.  He  was  far  in  advance  of  every  one,  and  his  reign 
marks  the  era  of  Russia’s  rise  to  greatness  among  the 
nations.  Yet  this  man  never  rose  to  the  conception  of 
what  must  be  a nation’s  true  glory.  His  ideas  all  ran 
in  the  line  of  material  grandeur,  and  not  in  the  direction 
of  moral  and  mental  progress.  He  was  a born  mechanic, 
and  he  built  a nation.  He  thought  to  build  a people  just 
as  he  built  the  city  that  bears  his  name.  His  superstitious 


300 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


nobles  considered  it  wicked  for  him  to  go  abroad,  but  he 
had  heard  of  the  arts  of  civilization,  that  made  France  and 
Holland  and  England  glorious  in  the  world,  and  he  de- 
termined to  see  for  himself  what  it  was  that  made  them 
so.  He  laid  aside  his  imperial  purple  (if  he  ever  had  any), 
and  travelled  into  distant  lands.  Sometimes  he  concealed 
his  royal  person  in  the  garb  of  a common  workman,  and 
wrought  in  the  shops  with  his  own  hands.  I have  seen 
many  specimens  of  his  handicraft  that  would  do  credit  to 
any  artisan  who  earned  his  bread  by  his  industry  and  skill. 
He  was  a capital  ship  carpenter.  Russia  was  in  want  of 
a navy.  Peter  learned  how  to  build  ships,  and  made  a navy 
for  Russia.  In  foreign  countries  he  studied  every  thing, 
but  learned  nothing  truly  great  in  the  art  of  government. 
Going  into  the  courts  of  Westminster  with  a friend  one 
day,  in  London,  and  seeing  many  men  with  wigs,  he  asked 
who  they  were. 

“ They  are  lawyers,”  said  his  friend. 

“ Lawyers  ! ” he  exclaimed ; “ why,  I have  only  two  lawyers 
in  my  dominions,  and  I mean  to  hang  one  as  soon  as  I re- 
turn.” 

In  all  that  he  saw  in  England  and  Holland,  where  he 
spent  most  of  his  time  abroad,  he  never  learned  that  mind 
makes  nations  great ; that  intelligence  is  the  security  of 
national  progress  and  prosperity,  and  that  the  people,  even 
under  despotic  governments,  have  the  power  to  help  them- 
selves if  their  rulers  will  give  them  a chance.  But  he  came 
back  with  the  idea  of  making  his  empire  greater  by  making 
it  broader,  and  he  took  the  sword  as  the  instrument  of  suc- 
cess. He  was  partially  successful.  After  a reign  of  half  a 
century,  he  died  and  left  his  empire  on  the  highway  to 
civilization  and  glory.  It  is  wonderful  that  Russia  has 
made  so  little  progress  since  his  death  in  1725.  Yet  no 
monarch  ever  reigned  who  descended  to  such  minute  details 
in  legislating  for  his  people.  Inured  to  hardships  himself, 


ST.  PETERSBURG. 


301 


and  possessed  with  the  idea  that  nothing  was  invincible 
which  his  will  was  set  to  overcome,  he  undertook  to  force 
his  subjects  into  sudden  and  astounding  reforms,  from 
which  they  revolted.  He  could  not  make  them  see  with  his 
eyes,  nor  work  with  his  hands.  He  made  his  clergy  shave 
their  faces,  and  the  enemies  of  his  innovations  called  him 
the  antichrist.  No  man  ever  lived  who  impressed  himself 
more  indelibly  upon  a people  than  Peter  the  Great.  His 
name  is  held  in  honor  second  only  to  the  Divine.  The 
relics  of  his  handiwork  are  preserved  with  religious  care. 
Every  museum  has  some  specimen  of  his  genius  and  in- 
dustry, and  the  lapse  of  a hundred  and  fifty  years  since 
these  things  were  made  by  imperial  fingers  invests  them 
with  interest  approaching  reverential  awe. 

But  the  greatest  of  all  his  works,  and  one  that  is  the 
most  characteristic  of  the  man,  is  the  city  of  St.  Peters- 
burg itself.  Why  he  selected  such  a site  for  it,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say,  unless  its  very  unfitness  and  apparent 
impracticability  developed  that  faculty  for  which  he  was  so 
remarkable,  and  impelled  him  to  undertake  what  to  others 
was  an  impossibility.  From  the  summit  of  a monument,  or 
the  dome  of  St.  Isaac’s  Cathedral,  the  city  seems  to  float  in 
the  waters.  And  this  would  not  be  a fatal  objection  to  the 
site  if  it  stood  in  such  relations  to  the  rest  of  the  empire  or 
the  world  as  to  make  it  important  to  fix  it  here.  But  it 
does  not.  Winter  shuts  it  out  from  communication  with 
the  sea  about  half  the  time. 

As  we  were  walking  on  the  most  thronged  of  the 
thoroughfares  in  St.  Petersburg,  the  Nevski  Perspective, 
a well-dressed  gentleman  paused,  and,  turning  toward  a 
church  which  he  was  passing,  took  off  his  hat  and  offered 
a silent  prayer.  What  at  first  appeared  the  eccentricity  of 
a single  individual,  or  excessive  devotion,  I soon  perceived 
was  the  practice  of  many,  and  indeed  a custom  of  the  coun- 
try. In  passing  a church,  of  course  one  passes  an  altar ; 


302 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


and  it  may  be,  and  indeed  is,  out  of  sight,  but  the  devout 
believer  recognizes  the  fact  by  a token  of  reverence,  slight 
perhaps,  but  nevertheless  sincere.  Women  hurrying  by 
with  baskets  of  market  stuff  were  often  willing  to  put  down 
their  burdens  before  the  cross  and  pass  a moment  in  thoughts 
of  their  Saviour. 

I went  into  the  church,  the  Kazan  Cathedral,  with  a 
colonnade  in  feeble  imitation  of  St.  Peter’s  at  Rome.  The 
Greek  religion  is  as  nearly  like  the  Romish  as  this  church 
is  like  St.  Peter’s:  it  is  a copy  after  it , and  a good  ways 
after  it,  but  still  so  near  that  it  amounts  to  the  same  thing. 
They  do  not  make  unto  themselves  graven  images,  because 
that  is  forbidden  by  the  second  commandment ; but  they 
do  make  the  likeness  of  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  although 
that  is  forbidden,  and  they  do  bow  down  and  worship  these 
likenesses,  or  pay  apparently  the  same  honors  to  a picture 
of  the  Virgin  that  the  Romanist  does  to  a statue.  The 
distinction  is  without  a difference.  But  when  I entered  the 
cathedral,  I saw  a sight  that  never  met  my  eye  in  Rome 
or  any  Roman  Catholic  city.  In  the  middle  of  the  day, 
and  on  a week-day  too,  respectably  appearing,  well-dressed 
gentlemen  were  standing  or  kneeling  before  the  altar  offer- 
ing their  devotions.  Women  were  there  numerously,  and 
the  poor,  whose  garb  denoted  their  poverty ; and  these 
classes  are  largely  represented  in  Romish  churches  every- 
where ; but  the  Greek  religion  had  such  hold  upon  the 
people  of  another  set,  as  to  excite  remark.  The  same  lavish 
expenditure  upon  the  churches  is  to  be  seen  here  as  in  Italy 
and  Spain,  though  the  architecture  is  far  from  being  so 
effective  as  that  which  prevails  in  Spain  and  Italy.  This 
church  was  built  sixty  years  ago,  at  an  expense  of  three 
millions  of  dollars  then.  A colonnade  inside  in  four  rows 
extends  from  the  centre  pillars  supporting  the  dome,  which 
is  230  feet  above  the  floor,  and  from  the  three  great  doors. 
These  columns  are  fifty-six  in  number,  each  one  a single 


ST.  PETERSBURG. 


303 


stone,  thirty-five  feet  high,  with  bronze  Corinthian  capitals. 
In  the  midst  of  the  main  door  the  name  of  God  is  recorded 
with  precious  stones,  and  a miraculous  painting  of  the 
Virgin  blazes  with  gold  and  jewels  of  untold  value.  And 
in  the  midst  of  this  temple  of  religion,  sacred  to  the  wor- 
ship, of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  hung  trophies  of  victories  over 
France,  Turkey,  and  Persia. 

But  this  church  is  not  the  wonder  of  the  city.  You 
must  go  with  us  to  the  Isaac  Cathedral,  whose  gilded  dome 
has  attracted  our  eye  from  every  part  of  the  city,  and  whose 
glittering  cross  above  the  crescent  we  have  studied  with  an 
opera-glass,  again  and  again,  at  a distance.  Peter  the 
Great  built  a church  of  wood  just  here,  and  Catharine 
another  when  the  first  was  destroyed,  but  that  gave  way  to 
this  glorious  pile,  which  was  forty  years  in  building,  and 
was  completed  in  1858.  It  is  far  more  imposing  in  its  ex- 
ternal appearance  than  St.  Peter’s.  Its  proportions  are 
perfect  and  stupendous.  Like  all  other  Greek  churches,  it 
is  four  square  and  in  the  form  of  the  Greek  cross.  A 
grand  entrance  on  each  side  is  approached  by  a broad 
flight  of  red  granite  steps,  vast  blocks  of  stone  from  the 
quarries  of  Finland.  Each  flight  of  steps  is  surmounted  by 
a peristyle,  each  pillar  of  which  is  sixty  feet  high,  one  solid, 
polished,  red  granite  column!  Above  them,  thirty  pillars 
support  the  central  cupola,  and  on  the  crown  of  this  vast 
hovering  cupola  is  a miniature  of  the  temple  below,  a beauti- 
ful finish  to  the  whole,  on  the  summit  of  which  stands  the 
shining  cross. 

Within,  the  splendor  is  amazing.  Think  of  columns  of 
solid  malachite  fifty  feet  high ! A bit  of  this  stone  is  a gem 
to  be  set  in  gold  for  an  ornament  on  a lady’s  dress.  But 
here  it  is  in  lofty  pillars,  and  steps  for  altars,  with  lesser 
pillars  of  lapis  lazuli  standing  near.  The  worship  is  in  the 
form  and  manner  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  is  strikingly 
Oriental,  more  so  than  that  we  see  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 


304 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Men  and  women  not  merely  bow  and  kneel  and  cross  them- 
selves, touching  their  fingers  to  their  foreheads  and  breasts, 
but  they  prostrate  themselves  with  their  faces  on  the  cold 
stone  floor,  and  lie  there  as  if  dead.  Women  thus  lying  in 
a heap  looked  more  like  a bundle  of  rags  or  old  clothes,  than 
human  beings  worshipping  the  Almighty.  Others  brought 
candles  and  lighted  them,  to  be  burned  before  the  images, 
that  is,  the  pictures  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  Holy 
Child.  Some  of  the  people  lighted  the  candles  themselves, 
repeating  a prayer ; the  verger  lighted  them  for  others,  and 
presented  them  to  the  Virgin  as  he  proceeded  with  the 
service. 

One  woman  brought  a napkin  or  some  cloth  embroidered, 
and  gave  it  to  the  verger,  who  opened  a golden  door  into 
the  Virgin’s  panel,  and  placing  the  offering  in  it,  locked  it 
again.  This  was  as  truly  idolatrous  as  any  worship  you 
would  see  in  Romish  churches,  and  wherein  it  differs  from 
offerings  to  idols  in  pagan  temples  I do  not  see. 

A collection  was  now  taken  up,  by  assistants  going 
around  with  bags,  and  gathering  from  the  multitude  stand- 
ing before  the  altar.  Every  one  seemed  to  put  in  some- 
thing, and  their  alms  and  prayers  went  together. 

Three  priests  were  officiating.  One  went  about  swinging 
a censer  with  burning  incense.  A choir  of  men-singers 
stood  near  the  altar  and  made  the  responses  with  great 
power  and  singular  sweetness  of  tone.  The  sacristan  came 
to  us  and  offered  to  show  us  the  sacred  things  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  when  we  objected  that  the  service  was  in  progress, 
and  we  did  not  wish  to  be  sight-seeing  at  such  a time,  he 
assured  us  it  was  alb  right,  and  we  need  not  stand  upon 
ceremony.  He  led  us  to  the  holy  places,  and  pointed  out 
the  sacred  relics,  which  were  useful  to  him  in  extracting  a 
fee  from  the  stranger,  and  that  is  the  only  miracle  they  are 
able  to  work.  If  they  do  this  every  day,  and  often  enough 
every  day,  they  will  be  held  in  honor  as  long  as  the  temple 
stands. 


ST.  PETERSBURG. 


305 


In  the  course  of  our  wanderings  under  the  lead  of  the 
sacristan,  we  found  ourselves  behind  the  veil,  or  the  hang- 
ing curtain  which  was  opened  for  the  priests  to  go  out  and 
in  during  the  service.  Fearful  of  intrusion,  we  were  about 
to  retire,  when  one  of  the  priests  came  from  his  place,  and 
invited  us  into  the  apartment  where  he  was  standing,  and 
responding  as  his  associate  read  the  service.  The  inmost 
shrine,  perhaps  it  may  be  called  the  Holy  of  Holies,  is  in  a 
round  temple,  whose  dome  is  held  by  eight  pillars  of  solid 
malachite,  and  the  walls  and  floors  are  of  polished  marbles 
of  various  colors.  The  steps  by  which  we  ascend  to  it  are 
of  polished  porphyry. 

The  freedom  with  which  a stranger  was  admitted  “ behind 
the  scenes  ” in  the  midst  of  the  service  was  surprising  to 
me,  and  I had  an  opportunity  not  expected,  of  coming  into 
contact  with  the  priests  and  ministers  of  the  Greek  religion, 
while  in  their  service.  The  priests  are  a very  inferior  order 
of  men  ; very  unlearned,  of  low  extraction,  and  in  their  ap- 
pearance and  manners  what  you  would  expect  after  such  a , 
statement.  They  are  obliged  to  be  married  once,  and  if 
the  wife  die,  they  are  not  allowed  to  marry  a second  time, 
but  the  widower  continues  to  serve  at  the  altar  as  before. 

It  is  said  that  the  priests  are  very  watchful  of  the  health  of 
their  wives,  on  the  principle  that  a good  thing  which  can- 
not be  replaced  must  be  preserved  with  the  greatest  care. 
This  is  better  than  the  celibacy  of  Romish  priests,  which  is 
offensive  to  nature  and  good  morals,  a curse  to  the  church 
and  the  world.  You  cannot  be  long  in  any  country  where 
the  Romish  priests  abound  without  hearing  of  their  bad 
morals,  but  the  reputation  of  the  priests  in  the  Russo- 
Greek  Church  is  better.  In  their  religious  services,  the 
most  effective  part  is  the  singing,  and  indeed  the  praying 
is  intoning,  which  is  a drawling  kind  of  singing,  now  com- 
ing into  use  in  the  ritualistic  churches,  which  are  only 
feeble  imitations  of  the  Romish  and  Greek.  Boys  are  em- 


20 


30  6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


ployed  in  the  choirs,  and  for  some  parts  of  the  service,  the 
solos  particularly,  they  get  the  deepest  bass  voices  that  can 
be  hired,  and  sometimes  they  render  the  sublime  passages 
with  great  effect.  I have  said  the  men,  as  well  as  the 
women,  appear  to  be  religious  in  Russia.  And  it  struck 
me  as  very  strange  to  see  a fine-looking,  full-grown  man 
coming  in  at  noonday  into  a church,  bringing  a little  wax 
candle,  walking  up  to  a shrine  over  which  is  a picture  of 
the  Virgin,  kneeling  before  it,  bowing  his  head  to  the  floor, 
crossing  himself  again  and  again,  lighting  his  candle  and 
sticking  it  into  a hole  prepared  for  the  purpose,  and  once 
more  prostrating  himself  to  kiss  the  pavement,  and  then 
retire  ! This  lighting  of  candles  is  an  emblem  of  life,  and 
is  designed  to  keep  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  continually 
in  view.  The  Russians  have  no  religious  ceremonies  with- 
out this  symbol  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  fast  finding  its  way 
into  the  churches  of  England  and  America  that  copy 
after  these  Oriental  customs,  without  apprehending  their 
meaning. 

Nothing  in  the  mode  of  worship  distinguishes  the  Greek 
from  the  Roman  Catholic.  I would  not  speak  with  confi- 
dence, but  it  appeared  to  me  that  the  people  were  more 
deeply  religious  than  they  are  in  Roman  Catholic  countries. 
It  is  not,  as  with  the  people  in  Italy  and  Spain,  and  more 
especially  in  France,  merely  a matter  of  form  to  be  gone 
through  with,  and  that  the  end  of  it..  In  the  Romish 
cathedrals,  it  was  rare  that  I could  get  into  sympathy 
with  the  worshippers  so  as  to  feel  devotional  in  a service 
foreign  from  that  with  which  I was  familiar.  For  any- 
where on  earth  where  men  are  worshipping  God  in  their 
way  and  we  are  present,  from  curiosity,  or  any  other 
motive,  I would  desire  also  to  be  a worshipper,  and  offer 
among  strangers  the  incense  of  a loving  heart,  touched 
with  a sense  of  sin,  and  longing  for  divine  favor.  There 
is  no  danger  of  becoming  an  idolater  by  worshipping 


ST.  PETERSBURG. 


307 


the  only  living  and  true  God  in  the  midst  of  idolaters. 
The  soul  goes  out  to  him  who  heareth  prayer  for  those 
who  are  • bowing  down  to  stocks  and  stones.  And  he 
whom  they  ignorantly  worship  I would  find  in  their  tem- 
ples, for  the  way  to  him  is  through  the  open  door  in  the 
side  of  his  crucified  Son.  But  the  Roman  Catholics  do 
not  get  so  near  to  God  as  these  Greek  Christians  do,  for 
the  former  seem  to  be  so  much  engrossed  with  saints  and 
the  mother  of  Jesus,  that  they  lose  the  joy  and  blessedness 
of  coming  right  to  Christ,  who  is  in  the  Father,  and  by 
whom  they  are  saved. 

The  Russians  keep  Lent  very  rigidly,  and  are  also  care- 
ful to  fast  every  Wednesday  and  Friday.  They  have  four 
great  fasts  in  the  year  : Lent,  Peter’s  fast,  Conception  fast, 
and  St.  Philip’s  fast.  The  children  are  taught  the  cate- 
chism of  the  Greek  Church.  The  Sabbath  is  not  observed 
with  any  more  regard  to  rest  and  worship  than  it  is  in 
France  or  Italy.  They  make  long  pilgrimages  to  monas- 
teries and  holy  places.  There  are  no  pews  or  seats  in  the 
churches ; all  stand,  the  rich  and  poor,  the  emperor  and 
empress,  high  and  low  alike  on  a level  in  the  presence  of 
God.  When  the  Emperor  was  assailed  in  the  park  by 
an  assassin,  a few  years  ago,  and  escaped  the  blow  aimed 
at  his  life,  he  rode  directly  to  this  Isaac  Cathedral,  and 
here  in  the  midst  of  the  thronging  multitude,  gave 
thanks  for  his  deliverance  from  sudden  death.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  church  service  is  the  Slavonic,  and  it  is 
quite,  as  unintelligible  to  the  masses  as  the  ora  pro 
nobis  and  the  rest  of  the  Latin  to  the  Roman  Catholics 
in  our  country.  The  whole  service  is  quite  as  im- 
posing as  the  Romish,  with  processions  and  banners  and 
sonorous  responses.  Religious  services  are  often  cele- 
brated in  private  houses  to  cast  out  evil  spirits ; and 
always  the  fortieth  day  after  a person’s  death  is  ob- 
served in  memory  and  improvement  of  the  event.  In 


308 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


one  corner  of  every  room  that  you  enter  from  the  street 
is  the  image  of  the  Virgin,  and  you  are  expected  always 
to  remove  your  hat  on  coming  in  ; at  first,  it  seems  to  be 
required  as  a token  of  respect  to  the  persons  in  the  house, 
but  it  is  solely  to  honor  the  Virgin  in  the  corner.  The 
Russians  are  a very  superstitious  people,  and  they  believe 
in  houses  haunted  with  good  and  evil  spirits,  especially  the 
evil,  and  the  constant  presence  of  a pictured  Mary  is  a 
protection  ; at  least  they  think  so. 


RUSSIAN  CITY. 


3io 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

RUSSIAN  ART,  CUSTOMS,  AND  MANNERS. 

T HAD  always  supposed  the  Winter  Palace  of  the  Em- 
peror  was  an  edifice  prepared  with  some  special  reference 
to  the  climate  of  this  northern  country.  It  is  called  the 
Winter  Palace  only  because  the  Emperor  has,  as  a matter 
of  course,  other  palaces  in  the  country  in  which  to  spend 
the  summer.  This  is  a vast  structure  on  the  very  border 
of  the  river  Neva,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  city.  It  is  built 
of  brown  stone,  and  makes  some  pretence  to  architectural 
elegance. 

It,  the  palace,  has  five  thousand  inhabitants  ! I confess 
that  those  figures  of  speech  seem  to  be  very  large,  and  it  is 
a wonder  how  so  many  people  can  find  employment  in  the 
service  of  one  household.  But  the  ways  of  royalty  are  not 
readily  comprehended  by  mortals  of  common  clay,  and  per- 
haps if  we  knew  how  many  servants  there  are  who  have 
servants  to  wait  upon  them,  how  all  these  have  families  of 
their  own,  and  these  are  all  to  be  fed  and  lodged  within 
these  walls,  we  may  begin  to  understand  that  one  house 
may  become  a village,  and  quite  populous  also. 

But  if  this  number  of  dependents  exceeds  that  of  any 
other  palace  in  Europe,  as  it  probably  does,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  it  is  the  most  gorgeously  decorated  and  furnished. 
Whatever  extravagance  the  wit  of  man  could  devise  to 
adorn  a house  has  been  lavished  here,  and  the  result  is 
what  might  be  expected,  — a great  display  without  that 
quiet  elegance  which  distinguishes  true  from  meretricious 


RUSSIAN  ART,  CUSTOMS,  AND  MANNERS.  3 1 1 

art.  The  Russian  is  between  the  Eastern  and  Western. 
The  Russian  is  not  a barbarous  people,  nor  yet  thoroughly 
civilized.  On  the  borders  of  the  two,  he  delights  in  the 
barbaric  splendor  of  the  Orientals,  and  has  not  yet  reached 
the  point  where  simplicity  imparts  the  highest  charm  to 
elegance  and  grandeur.  This  accounts  for  the  architecture 
of  Russian  palaces  and  temples.  More  emphatically  it. 
shows  itself  in  the  immense  amount  of  gold  which  overlays 
every  thing  they  wish  to  adorn.  Even  the  domes  of  their 
churches  blaze  in  gold,  so  that  each  one  looks  like  a rising 
sun. 

The  crown  jewels  of  Russia  are  the  chief  object  of  interest 
in  the  Winter  Palace,  for  it  is  dreadfully  tiresome  to  be  led 
over  miles  of  polished  floors  to  look  through  room  upon  room, 
in  endless  mazes  lost,  seeing  the  same  things  substantially 
everywhere,  and  hearing  the  same  story  over  and  over  again 
about  the  kings  and  queens  that  slept  here  and  died  there ; 
though,  as  it  was  built  since  1840,  there  is  little  or  no  his- 
toric interest  about  it.  But  the  crown  jewels  are  worth 
seeing.  One  loves  to  look  at  a diamond  worth  a million, 
though  he  cannot  use  it  for  a button.  The  Orloff  diamond 
is  as  famous  as  the  Koh-i-noor,  and  was,  perhaps,  at  one 
time  part  of  the  same  stone.  Its  history  is  romantic.  It 
was  once  the  eye  of  an  idol  in  a temple  in  India,  and  being 
plucked  out  and  stolen  by  a soldier,  it  passed  through  many 
hands  till  Count  Orloff  bought  it  and  gave  it  to  the  Empress 
of  Russia.  It  cost  the  Count  or  the  Empress  about  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  weighs  194  carats,  being  eight 
carats  more  than  the  Koh-i-noor  weighed  when  it  came  from 
India.  The  Orloff  is  the  largest  of  the  crown  jewels  in 
Europe.  The  imperial  crown  itself  is  radiant  with  the 
most  magnificent  gems,  forty  or  more  in  number,  and  the 
crown  of  the  Empress  contains  the  most  beautiful  mass  of 
diamonds  known  to  be  set  together ; a hundred  of  them  at 
least.  Some  of  the  richest  are  precious  stones  presented 


312 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


to  Russia  by  sovereigns  in  the  East  who  would  conciliate 
this  mighty  power.  And  what  are  they  good  for,  when 
gathered  into  such  a treasury  ? They  are  the  playthings  of 
royalty ; baubles  that  delight  the  eye,  pure  carbon  that  is 
sold  by  the  ton  for  a few  dollars,  but  in  the  form  of  a dia- 
mond, it  has  a value  scarcely  to  be  reckoned,  when  they  lie 
around  in  such  heaps  as  we  see  them  here. 

The  Hermitage  is  a palace  near  to  the  other,  in  which 
are  the  Russian  galleries  of  art.  If  it  was  surprising  to 
find  in  Madrid  the  most  valuable  collection  of  paintings  in 
Europe,  it  was  not  less  astonishing  to  find  in  Russia  such 
magnificent  pictures  and  so  large  a number  of  those  that 
deserve  admiration.  For  many  years  past  the  government 
has  been  spending  large  sums  of  money  in  the  purchase  of 
pictures.  It  has  had  and  has  its  agents  in  Italy,  and  in 
every  picture  mart  in  Europe,  ready  to  pay  any  price  for 
“an  old  master.” 

And  it  has  shown  its  good  sense  in  this,  that  when  it 
cannot  compass  the  original,  it  gets  the  best  possible  copy, 
and  hangs  it  on  its  walls,  with  its  story  fairly  told.  This  is 
the  true  way  to  cultivate  the  taste,  and  instruct  the  intel- 
lect of  the  nation  in  art.  Catharine  the  Great  built  a pavil- 
ion on  the  end  of  the  Winter  Palace,  to  which  she  might 
retire  from  the  cares  of  State,  and  here  she  drew  around  her 
the  wits  of  the  age.  She  called  it  the  Hermitage,  and  that 
it  might  be  a real  refuge,  into  which  royalty  and  its  stilted- 
ness could  not  intrude,  she  made  a curious  code  of  laws  to 
govern  the  company  that  she  here  assembled. 

The  Hermitage  is  now  the  Royal  Museum,  and  its  gran- 
deur and  extent  are  unequalled.  It  is  515  feet  long  and  375 
feet  wide.  The  roof  of  this  vast  hall  is  supported  by  six- 
teen columns,  each  one  a single  block  of  granite  from  Fin- 
land, with  Corinthian  capitals  of  Carara  marble.  Successive 
stories  on  the  same  scale  are  filled  with  statues  and  pictures, 
and  curious  works  of  art,  in  which  the  genius  and  skill  of  all 


RUSSIAN  ART,  CUSTOMS,  AND  MANNERS. 


313 


schools  and  nations  are  represented.  Even  to  mention 
them  would  take  up  more  of  your  time  than  would  be 
proper  for  me  to  consume,  and  I let  them  pass  unnoticed. 
I was  even  more  interested  in  Peter  the  Great’s  gallery, 
where  his  turning-lathes  and  other  tools  that  he  used  with 
his  own  hands  are  preserved  ; and  what  is  even  more  re- 
markable, the  instruments  that  he  manufactured  for  him- 
self, from  a telescope  to  a walking-stick.  His  iron  staff  that 
he  carried  about  with  him  would  not  be  credited  as  genuine, 
were  it  not  that  a wooden  rod  tells  of  his  gigantic  stature, 
and  thus  makes  it  quite  probable  that  he  could  walk  with  a 
rod  of  iron. 

Art-culture  in  Russia  has  advanced  to  a far  higher  point 
than  we  would  expect  to  find.  The  painting  and  sculpture 
of  Russia  in  the  Paris  exhibition  astonished  the  outside 
world,  and  the  galleries  in  the  Hermitage  devoted  to  native 
art  are  marvellously  illustrated  with  splendid  achievements 
of  the  chisel  and  pencil. 

In  all  countries  I am  more  interested  in  studying  the 
condition  of  the  masses  than  the  “upper  classes.”  In  all 
countries  the  rich  and  the  titled,  the  “well-to-do  in  the 
world,”  can  take  care  of  themselves,  and  they  are  substan- 
tially the  same  kind  of  people  in  all  civilized  lands.  The 
nobles  of  England,  of  France,  of  Germany,  of  Russia,  have 
plenty  to  eat  and  to  drink  and  they  know  wherewithal  they 
are  to  be  clothed,  and  when  one  is  travelling  in  their  country, 
he  has  no  need  to  ask  whether  or  not  they  are  enjoying 
themselves  after  their  own  fashion,  and  have  any  need  of 
human  sympathy.  But  when  we  pass  through  a Russian 
town  with  a thousand  huts  in  it,  all  about  the  same  size, 
and  not  one  aspiring  to  the  dignity  of  a respectable  Ameri- 
can farm-house,  and  see  vast  tracts  of  land  well  tilled,  but 
not  a house  nor  a man  in  sight,  then  I wonder  how  the  people 
live  in  these  parts  ; what  do  they  eat  and  drink,  and  do 
they  have  enough  ? Are  they  contented  and  happy,  or  do 


314  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

they  hunger  and  pine,  and  drag  out  a miserable  sort  of  life 
of  it,  here  in  these  far-away  lands  ? 

In  the  agricultural  districts  of  Russia,  not  very  far  away 
from  the  chief  cities,  a laborer  gets  for  a day’s  work  his 
food  and  about  fifty  copeks,  or,  of  our  money,  about  forty 
cents  a day.  A mechanic  gets  about  one  rouble,  which  is 
a hundred  copeks,  or  about  eighty  cents  of  our  money,  for 
a day’s  work,  and  he  finds  his  own  food.  In  the  winter 
season  beef  is  sold  in  St.  Petersburg  for  ten  or  twelve 
cents  a pound,  and  in  summer  it  is  as  low  as  eight  cents. 
This  will  enable  you  to  compare  the  rate  of  wages  with  the 
price  of  food,  and  to  see  that  there  is  not  so  great  a differ- 
ence in  the  cost,  to  the  poor,  of  living  in  that  country  and 
ours,  as  might  at  first  be  supposed. 

The  rent  of  the  hotel  at  which  I am  staying  in  St.  Peters- 
burg  — and  it  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  kingdom  — is 
about  fifteen  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  and  that  is 
about  seven  per  cent  on  the  valuation  of  the  property. 

The  food  of  the  peasantry  is  largely  composed  of  cab- 
bage soup,  which  is  a great  article  among  them,  and  they 
consume  it  day  after  day,  year  in  and  year  out,  and  are 
always  fond  of  it.  This  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  com- 
pensations of  Providence,  that  people  may  continue  to  be 
fond  of  a dish  that  they  have  to  eat  every  day.  Their 
bread  is  black,  and  they  have  some  meat,  for  it  is  not 
costly,  and  on  the  whole  they  are  comfortably  fed.  So 
they  are  decently  clothed.  Their  dress  has  the  appearance 
of  warmth  and  comfort,  too  much  for  the  hot  weather 
that  is  now  raging ; but  they  have  so  much  cold  and  so 
little  heat,  that  they  do  not  care  to  make  a change  for  the 
brief  summer.  A poor  peasant  swelters  in  a jacket  of 
sheepskin  with  the  wool  on  it,  or  wears  a fur  collar  if  he 
can  afford  it,  and  sticks  to  it  under  a blazing  hot  sun,  as 
well  as  in  midwinter. 

A peculiar  custom  is  observed  in  Russia  that  I never 


STREET  SCENE  IN  A RUSSIAN  CITY. 


3 1 6 ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

noticed  elsewhere.  You  are  expected  always  to  take  off 
your  overcoat  on  entering  the  house  to  make  a call,  of  busi- 
ness or  pleasure.  Even  when  you  call  at  the  bank,  to  draw 
or  deposit  your  money,  a liveried  servant  in  the  hall  con- 
ducts you  to  an  anteroom,  where  you  lay  aside  your  over- 
coat and  hat,  and  then  enter  the  business-room  as  if  you 
were  to  be  presented  to  the  lady  of  the  mansion.  My 
bankers  here  are  Wynken  & Co.,  at  the  end  of  .the  iron 
bridge  over  the  Neva,  and,  upon  entering,  I was  shown  to 
a seat,  and  my  letter  of  credit  taken  by  a clerk  to  one  of 
the  firm,  who  immediately  came  out  from  his  office,  and 
after  a few  complimentary  inquiries,  asked  me  what  he 
could  do  for  me,  and  in  a few  minutes  the  business  was 
done. 

A despot  is  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  We  have  come  to 
associate  only  a bad  meaning  with  the  word  despot.  It  had 
not  such  a sense  as  we  liberty  worshippers  give  it.  Now 
it  means  a tyrant,  a hard  master,  one  who  has  unlimited 
power  and  uses  it  to  oppress.  Despotes  is  the  Greek  word 
for  master  in  the  New  Testament,  and  sometimes  "CsxzLord 
himself  is  spoken  of  and  addressed  under  this  name.  The 
apostle  Paul  says  : “ Let  as  many  servants  as  are  under 
the  yoke,  count  their  own  despots  worthy  of  all  honor.”  And 
again  : “they  that  have  believing  despots ; ” and  again,  he 
commands  servants  to  be  obedient  unto  their  own  despots. 
So  Peter  tells  them  to  be  subject  to  their  own  despots.  And 
good  old  Simeon  cries  : “ Despotes , now  lettest  thou  thy 
servant  depart  in  peace.”  And  Peter  speaks  of  those  who 
deny  the  despotes  that  bought  them  ; and  in  Rev.  vi.  io,  we 
read  : “ Plow  long,  O despotes , holy  and  true,”  &c.  These 
quotations  show  us  the  good  sense  in  which  the  word  was 
once  used  ; and  now,  when  we  speak  of  a despotic  govern- 
ment, we  do  not  understand  that  it  is  necessarily  an 
oppressive  government,  but  one  in  which  the  power  is 
concentrated  in  the  hands  of  one  man,  who  can  use  it  at 
his  pleasure,  unrestrained  by  constitution  or  legislature. 


RUSSIAN  ART,  CUSTOMS,  AND  MANNERS.  3 1 7 

Justice  is  administered  under  laws  the  issue  of  the  sove- 
reign will,  and  liable  to  be  repealed  at  his  pleasure.  Trial 
by  jury  is  of  recent  introduction,  and  may  be  considered  as 
an  experiment.  In  the  court-room  I inquired  of  an  intelli- 
gent gentleman  how  it  was  working.  He  said,  quite  well ; 
and  then  related  the  following  incident  to  show  how  the 
royal  will  comes  in,  even  to  the  smallest  affairs  of  private 
citizens  : An  officer  under  the  government  promised  to 
give  a certain  place  of  profit  to  a man,  who  was  soon  sur- 
prised to  find  that  it  was  given  to  another.  Such  mishaps 
are  not  unusual  in  milder  governments,  I believe.  But  the 
disappointed  office-seeker  sought  the  man  who  had  prom- 
ised it  to  him,  and  slapped  his  face  in  open  court,  charging 
him  with  a breach  of  faith.  He  was  arraigned  and  tried  by 
jury  for  the  assault  and  battery,  and  the  jury  brought  in  a 
verdict  of  not  guilty,  or  more  accurately,  — “ Served  him 
right.”  The  verdict  was  received  with  great  applause.  The 
Emperor  gave  the  office-seeker  and  the  office-holder  also, 
the  striker  and  the  struck,  appointments  in  distant  parts 
of  the  empire,  where  neither  of  them  wanted  to  go  or  to 
stay,  and  thus  he  punished  them  both : one  for  breaking 
his  word,  and  the  other  for  breaking  the  peace.  There  is 
a vein  of  humor  in  such  administration  of  justice. 

“ The  bookkeeper  of  a mercantile  house  in  Thorn  was 
arrested  in  the  Russian  town  of  Rieszawa,  by  the  burgo- 
master of  that  place,  on  a perfectly  unfounded  charge  of  an 
intention  to  smuggle.  Although  the  bookkeeper  succeeded 
in  establishing  his  respectability,  he  was'  thrown  into  a 
dirty  prison  cell,  and  kept  there  twenty-four  hours.  His 
principal,  of  course,  complained  of  this  most  unjustifiable 
treatment,  and  has  lately  received  an  official  communication 
that  the  burgomaster  has  also  been  imprisoned  twenty-four 
hours,  and  in  the  same  prison  in  which  he  had  shut  up  the 
unhappy  bookkeeper.” 

M.  Andreoli,  a Russian  writer,  who  was  exiled  some 
years  ago  to  Siberia,  is  now  contributing  to  the  Revue 


318 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Moderne , under  the  title  of  “ Souvenirs  de  Siberie,”  his  re- 
collections not  only  of  Siberian  but  also  of  Russian  life. 
In  the  last  number  of  the  Revue  he  tells  a story,  the  end  of 
which  belongs  to  the  present  reign,  the  beginning  to  the 
reign  of  Paul,  of  whose  period  it  is  strikingly  characteristic. 
The  Emperor’s  favorite  was  at  that  time  a young  French 
actress,  of  whom  he  was  madly  jealous.  One  evening,  at  a 
ball,  he  noticed  that  a young  man  named  Labanoff  was  pay- 
ing her  a great  deal  of  attention.  He  did  not  lose  his  tem- 
per, but  at  the  end  of  the  ball  gave  orders  that  Labanoff 
should  be  arrested  and  thrpwn  into  the  citadel.  He.  only 
intended  to  keep  him  there  a few  days,  “ to  make  him  more 
serious,”  after  which  he  proposed  to  reprimand  him  and  to 
appoint  him  to  an  office  which  had  been  solicited  for  him. 
Labanoff,  however,  was  forgotten.  At  the  death  of  Nicholas, 
Alexander  II.,  then  full  of  magnanimity,  liberated  all  the 
prisoners  in  the  citadel,  without  exception.  In  a vaulted 
tomb,  in  which  it  was  impossible  to  stand  upright,  and 
which  was  not  more  than  two  yards  long,  an  old  man  was 
found,  almost  bent  double,  and  incapable  of  answering  when 
he  was  spoken  to.  This  was  Labanoff.  The  Emperor 
Paul  had  been  succeeded  by  the  Emperor  Alexander  I.,  and 
afterwards  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas ; he  had  been  in  the 
dungeon  more  than  fifty  years.  When  he  was  taken  out 
he  could  not  bear  the  light,  and,  by  a strange  phenom- 
enon, his  movements  had  become  automatic.  He  could 
hardly  hold  himself  up,  and  he  had  become  so  accus- 
tomed to  move  about  within  the  limits  of  his  narrow  cell 
that  he  could  not  take  more  than  two  steps  forwards  without 
turning  round,  as  though  he  had  struck  against  a wall,  and 
taking  two  steps  backwards,  and  so  on  alternately.  He 
lived  for  only  a week  after  his  liberation. 

We  often  read  such  facts  as  these,  and  they  are  sad  and 
awful  illustrations  of  what  unlimited  power  may  be  left  to 
do.  Recently  there  have  been  horrible  stories  of  cruelties 
inflicted  by  the  agents  of  the  Russian  government,  but 


RUSSIAN  ART,  CUSTOMS,  AND  MANNERS. 


319 


they  are  not  worse  than  have  sometimes  been  perpetrated 
in  the  name  of  liberty  and  justice  in  other  and  more  en- 
lightened countries. 

Look  on  the  map  of  Asia  and  see  that  vast  country  of 
Siberia,  a part  of  the  colossal  empire  of  Russia.  The  tales 
that  are  told  of  the  exiles  of  Siberia  have  formed  a large 
part  of  the  sensational  literature  of  other  days.  In  that 
lone,  distant,  cold,  inhospitable  clime,  is  the  region  where  for 
many  long  years  this  government  has  sent  its  prisoners  of 
state,  and  many  others  who  have  incurred  the  despotic  dis- 
pleasure. Banished  for  life  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
death.  The  wife  of  the  exile,  if  not  allowed  to  go  with  him 
and  share  his  sorrows  in  a wretched  land,  is  free  to  be  married 
again.  His  property  goes  to  his  heirs  as  if  he  were  dead. 
He  has  not  even  his  own  name  in  Siberia,  but  is  known  by 
the  number  that  he  receives  when  he  enters  upon  his  new 
estate. 

It  is  terrible  to  think  that  one  imperfect  man  holds  in  his 
own  hand  such  power.  The  mere  possession  of  it  tempts 
to  evil.  And  limit  it  as  we  may,  divide  it  among  many, 
apply  checks  and  balances,  there  will  yet  be  abuses  under 
all  systems  of  human  government.  Even  our  own  boasted 
democratic  republican  form  has  its  defects.  We  have  made 
ignorance  and  vice  too  mighty  in  our  popular  elections,  and 
have  come  to  know  that  no  despot  is  more  irfesponsible 
than  the  many-headed  monster  of  a corrupt  and  unthinking 
multitude. 

Taking  a boat  on  the  Neva  and  being  rowed  across  to  the 
Academy  of  Science,  we  made  an  interesting  visit  to  the 
Zoological  Museum,  which  has  some  things  of  interest  far 
beyond  that  of  any  other  museum  in  the  world.  Here  we 
have  something  more  tha  1 fossils,  we  have  the  veritable 
meat  of  the  mammoth  and  mastodon  and  elephant,  and 
perhaps  they  may  all  belong  to  one  and  the  same  animal. 
But  the  Siberian  rivers  have  furnished  ice-tombs  in  which 
these  beasts  have  been  buried  for  centuries,  and  when  they 


320 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


are  brought  to  light  by  the  change  in  the  course  of  the 
streams,  or  by  accidental  discovery,  they  are  certainly  the 
most  interesting  of  all  the  remains  of  extinct  races.  The 
great  mammoth  in  this  museum  was  found  in  1799,  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Lena  in  Siberia,  and  the  flesh  was  so 
fresh  upon  it  that  the  beasts  and  birds  of  prey  were  ready 
to  devour  it  as  soon  as  it  was  exposed. 

The  chief  interest  in  this  Russian  collection  lies  in  the 
actual  skin  and  hair  and  flesh  of  these  animals  so  remarka- 
bly preserved.  Here  is  a rhinoceros,  but  of  a species  now 
extinct,  with  its  head  almost  entirely  covered  with  the  origi- 
nal skin,  and  its  feet  also,  the  fine  hair  being  still  visible. 
The  seals  and  otters,  sharks  and  sea-horses,  sword-fish  and 
alligators,  lions,  tigers,  bears,  elks,  and  mooses ; birds  of 
countless  kinds,  — make  up  an  assortment  wonderful  in  its 
extent  and  variety,  and  the  more  interesting  as  the  pursuit 
of  science  has  led  to  the  gathering  of  splendid  specimens 
from  the  tropical  regions,  to  be  contrasted  with  the  aborigi- 
nal growth  of  these  Arctic  climes. 

It  was  the  edge  of  evening  as  we  returned  from  this  ex- 
pedition, and  the  declining  sun  was  flooding  the  river  and 
the  eastern  shore  with  golden  glory.  We  were  tired;  the  even- 
ing was  cool  and  refreshing ; the  scene  was  beautiful,  indeed 
exciting,  as  other  boats  and  barges  and  steamers  swept  by 
us  and  ships  and  schooners  swung  listlessly  in  the  stream. 

The  Winter  Palace  and  the  Hermitage,  the  Alexander 
Column,  the  Admiralty  Buildings,  and  other  splendid  edi- 
fices were  on  the  western  bank,  the  fortress  and  arsenal 
and  academy  on  the  east,  and  the  domes  of  the  Isaac  and 
Kazan  Cathedrals  hung  like  suns  in  the  sky.  We  seemed 
to  be  far  away  from  home,  and  lost  in  an  enchanted  sea. 
We  rowed  along  under  the  stern  of  a vessel  and  read  her 
name,  “Favorite,  Arbroath;”  it  sounded  Scotchy,  and 
hailing  a sailor  leaning  over  the  ship’s  side,  I asked  him, 

“ where’s  Arbroath  ? ” 

“ Aboot  twelve  miles  from  Dundee,”  he  said. 


RUSSIAN  ART,  CUSTOMS,  AND  MANNERS. 


321 


“ And'  what  brings  you  here  ? ” 

“ The  ship,”  he  answered,  and  then  added  that  the  cargo 
was  fire-brick,  made  in  England,  and  brought  here  for  the 
Russians,  who  make  great  use  of  it  in  their  stoves.  He  did 
not  like  the  Russians,  he  said,  and  hoped  he  should  never 
have  to  come  there  again. 

Our  boatman  landed  us  on  the  western  shore,  and  as  we 
walked  up  and  down  the  river  enjoying  the  evening  breeze, 
he  soon  passed  us  with  another  company  in  his  boat,  and 
taking  off  his  cap  saluted  us  as  old  customers  with  a grace 
that  would  do  credit  to  a Paris  waterman. 

It  was  half-past  nine  o’clock  when  we  saw  the  last  rays 
of  the  sun  on  the  spire  of  the  arsenal  church,  and  we  then 
went  home.  It  is  now  eleven  o’clock  at  night,  and  I am 
writing  by  the  light  from  the  window  opening  into  a court. 
It  would  be  easy  to  write  all  night  without  a candle. 


A Russian  Porter. 


322 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

FROM  ST.  PETERSBURG  TO  MOSCOW. 

"lV/TY  roughest  railroad  ride  in  Europe  was  from  St. 

Petersburg  to  Moscow.  It  did  not  improve  the 
road  to  be  told,  as  I was,  that  it  was  built  by  American 
engineers ; but  it  did  jolt  me  so  naturally  that  I felt  at 
home  as  soon  as  we  were  under  way.  And  there  was  a slight 
infusion  of  a familiar  morality  in  the  excuse  made  for  the 
present  condition  of  the  road,  that  the  managers  of  it  under 
the  government  were  seeking  to  buy  it,  and  were  letting  it 
run  down  that  they  might  get  it  at  a lower  figure  ! 

A great  throng  of  friends  were  at  the  station  to  take 
leave  of  the  passengers  about  to  set  off  for  Moscow.  It  is 
a ride  of  about  twenty  hours  ; hardly  a journey  to  call  for 
as  much  leave-taking  as  with  us  demands  a voyage  over  sea. 
The  journey  of  four  hundred  miles  includes  the  whole  night 
and  part  of  two  days,  and  only  one  train  a day,  with  no  good 
place  to  stop  for  the  night,  so  that  we  are  literally  shut  up 
to  the  necessity  of  going  through  at  once.  The  arrange- 
ments for  sleeping  are  of  the  rudest  kind.  Into  the  cars 
the  passengers  brought  pillows  and  blankets,  preparing  to 
make  themselves  as  comfortable  as  circumstances  would 
permit.  The  fare  through  was  $15,  and  my  little  trunk  of 
less  than  fifty  pounds  weight  was  $1.50  extra.  As  soon  as 
we  were  off,  a man  decorated  with  three  medals  entered 
with  an  armful  of  newspapers  for  sale,  and  as  many  bought 
them  and  read  them  as  in  a car  going  out  of  New  York  or 
Boston.  It  was  a good  sign.  Small  thanks  are  due  to  the 


FROM  ST.  PETERSBURG  TO  MOSCOW. 


323 


government  from  the  press,  however.  It  is  subjected  to 
the  strictest  censorship.  No  foreign  papers  are  allowed  to 
come  into  the  country,  unless  they  are  subscribed  for  by 
permission,  and  then  they  are  interdicted  if  any  thing  dan- 
gerous to  the  existing  order  of  things  is  in  them.  Nothing 
unfriendly  to  good  morals  is  allowed  to  be  printed,  and  an 
excellent  regulation  requires  the  examination  and  approval 
of  all  plays  before  they  can  be  put  upon  the  stage.  These 
barbarians  of  the  north  will  not  have  the  luxury  of  the 
“ dirty  drama  ” which  is  so  fascinating  to  the  highly  culti- 
vated Parisians  and  New  Yorkers. 

A lady  and  gentleman  entered  the  car  as  we  were  just 
starting,  and  could  not  get  a double  seat ; it  was  a long  car 
like  our  own,  with  seats  on  each  side  of  the  passage.  They 
could  find  separate  seats,  but  they  were  to  ride  all  night,  and 
of  course  desired  to  sit  side  by  side.  They  sought  to  make 
exchanges,  but  in  vain.  Seeing  their  distress,  my  son  and 
I agreed  to  separate  and  surrender  our  places  to  them. 
Their  gratitude  was  equal  to  their  surprise.  “We  were 
French,  they  were  sure.”  Not  at  all.  “Ah  no,  we  were 
English.”  By  no  means.  “ And  pray,  would  we  tell  them 
of  what  nation  ? ” Americans  : and  they  were  nearly  over- 
come with  pleasure,  and  poured  out  their  grateful  ackowl- 
edgments. 

At  Lubanskaia  we  stopped  to  dine,  and  you  will  be  more 
amused  by  reading  the  names  of  some  of  the  places  we 
touched  in  passing,  than  by  the  names  of  the  dishes  we 
had  for  dinner.  Thus  we  passed  through  Kolpinskaia, 
Sablinskaia,  Ouschkinskaia,  Babinskaia,  Tehondoskaia, 
Volkhooskaia,  Guadskaia,  Mainvisheskaia,  Bourgurnskaia, 
Borooenskaia,  Okouloviskaia,  Zarebchenkeskaia,  Kalosch- 
kooskaia,  Ostaschkooskaia,  Reschchilkooskaia,  Paadsulnel- 
chookaia  ; but  I am  getting  a headache  in  copying  them 
out  of  the  time-table,  and  will  spare  you.  Wales  is  nothing 
to  Russia  for  hard  names. 


324 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  station-houses  are  well  built,  and  refreshment,  rooms 
well  supplied ; so  that  you  get  comfortable  meals  on  the 
route. 

At  Tver  we  crossed  the  Volga,  and  here  we  had  the  first 
sight  of  that  famous  river.  It  is  at  this  point  downward 
navigable  for  steamers,  and  we  might  step  on  board  of  one 
and  steam  away  two  thousand  miles  to  Astrachan ! Tver 
is  a place  of  remarkable  historical  interest,  which  lingers 
around  the  cathedral  and  the  monastery  in  which  a bishop 
was  murdered  by  order  of  John  the  Terrible,  though  his 
death  was  reported  as  occasioned  by  the  fumes  of  a stove. 

As  night  drew  on  we  learned  that  one  car  in  the  long 
train  was  fitted  up  for  sleeping,  and  we  were  glad  to  pay  a 
couple  of  roubles  apiece  for  the  chance  of  a horizontal  nap. 
Toward  midnight  the  process  of  reconstruction  commenced. 
The  long  car  is  divided  into  four  compartments,  each  eight 
feet  square ; across  each  side  is  swung  a shelf,  the  seats 
below  are  converted  into  berths,  and  two  more  are  made  up 
on  the  floor ; a pillow  of  homoeopathic  proportions  is  assigned 
to  each  passenger,  and  unless  a man  is  afraid  it  will  get 
into  his  ear  he  takes  it.  By  a ladder  of  seven  steps  I 
ascended  to  the  topmost  perch,  and  there  sought  to  rest. 
Alas  ! the  search  was  vain.  My  refuge  in  sleeplessness  is 
to  old-time  hymns,  and  Watts  often  composes  me  to  slum- 
ber as  his  cradle  lullaby  did  when  the  best  of  mothers  sang 
it  in  my  infancy.  But  now  the  only  lines  that  haunted  me 
were  these,  and  perfectly  descriptive  of  my  present  expe- 
rience, — 

“ So  when  a raging  fever  burns, 

We  shift  from  side  to  side  by  turns  ; 

And  ’tis  a poor  relief  we  gain, 

To  change  the  place  and  keep  the  pain.” 

For  half  a dozen  Russians  sat  together  in  this  little  cham- 
ber; all  smoking,  all  laughing,  all  talking,  and  in  that  jar- 
gon of  a language  worse  to  hear  than  any  other  that  ever 


FROM  ST.  PETERSBURG  TO  MOSCOW. 


325 


crashed  upon  my  auricular  nerves.  There  was'  no  railroad 
law  to  be  invoked  to  stop  them.  We  were  two,  they  were 
six.  They  wanted  to  smoke  and  talk  all  night ; we  were 
invalids,  fighting  for  a wink  of  sleep.  As  the  night  wore 
on,  they  grew  more  earnest.  At  frequent  stops  by  the  way 
they  rushed  out  and  returned  fortified  with  strong  drink ; 
the  smoke,  the  breaths,  the  smells,  the  talk  became  intoler- 
able. I put  my  woe-begone  visage  over  the  edge  of  the 
shelf,  and  arresting  their  attention  by  a groan,  asked  if  any 
of  them  spoke  the  French  language  ? A military  officer  in 
uniform  rose  and  said  he  did.  Then  in  tearful  accents  I 
said,  “You  behold  two  American  travellers  who  have  paid 
for  these  luxurious  couches  to  get  a little  rest  in  their  weary 
travels.  If  you  gentlemen  are  to  keep  up  this  discourse, 
sleep  is  as  impossible  as  if  we  were  under  the  tortures  of  the 
Inquisition  ; is  it  too  much  to  hope  that  you  will  soon  suf- 
fer this  discourse  of  yours  to  come  to  an  end  for  the  night, 
to  be  renewed  at  some  future  day.”  Before  my  speech  was 
finished  he  had  begun  to  laugh,  and  assuring  me  of  his  re- 
gret that  we  had  been  disturbed,  he  represented  to  his  friends 
the  wishes  of  two  Amerikaners , and  they  soon  turned  in. 

In  the  morning,  looking  down  from  the  shelf,  I counted 
thirty-two  stumps  of  cigars  lying  on  the  floor,  in  one  quar- 
ter, and  at  least  a hundred  must  have  been  consumed  in 
that  one  compartment. 

At  half-past  seven  we  stopped  for  coffee.  A forlorn-look- 
ing set  of  men  and  women  crept  out  for  fresh  air  and  re- 
freshment. They  had  been  badly  stayed  with,  all  of  them' 
But  the  longest  night  has  its  morning,  and  so  had  this. 
The  coffee  was  good ; we  paid  five  times  as  much  for  it  as 
it  was  worth,  even  there,  but  we  were  comforted  with  the 
beverage.  At  one  end  of  the  car  was  a wash-bowl  and 
water,  and  over  it  a notice:  “Towel,  5 copakes;  soap,  15 
copakes,”  — -so  for  about  20  cents  you  could  have  the  use  of 
everybody’s  towel  and  soap  ! 


326 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  face  'of  the  country  improves  as  we  get  on.  More 
trees,  more  hills,  more  culture,  and  signs  of  thrift  on  every 
hand. 

Into  the  car  came  a venerable  ecclesiastic  of  the  Greek 
type.  A heavy  gold  cross  was  suspended  from  his  neck 
and  hung  on  his  broad  breast ; and  his  gray  hair  rested  in 
curls  on  his  shoulders.  The  scarlet  and  gold  on  his  robes 
attracted  the  eye  of  the  stranger,  but  he  seemed  to  challenge 
no  special  attention  from  the  people  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact.  We  called  him  the  Patriarch  Nicon  at  once,  for 
he  came  in  upon  us  as  at  Krukova,  which  is  the  station  where 
we  would  stop,  if  we  had  time  to  make  a visit  at  the  Monas- 
tery of  New  Jerusalem,  or  Voskresenski,  which,  being  inter- 
preted, meaneth  Resurrection.  This  monastery  was  founded 
in  1657  by  the  Patriarch  Nicon,  whose  story  is  told  by  Dean 
Stanley  in  his  lectures  on  the  Greek  Church,  and  condensed 
into  the  travel  books  in  the  hands  of  wanderers  in  these 
wilds. 

At  this  village  of  the  Resurrection,  Nicon,  a patriarch 
of  the  Greek  Church,  was  wont  to  stop  in  his  journeys 
through  the  country,  and  in  1655  he  built  a church  here, 
and  the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias  did  him  the  honor  to  come 
to  its  consecration  and  name  it  the  New  Jerusalem.  Nicon 
obtained  a model  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at 
old  Jerusalem,  and  he  made  one  like  it  here.  He  found 
hills  and  vales  and  brooks  like  those  in  the  Holy  Land,  and 
gave  them  names  to  correspond,  which  they  bear  to  this  day, 
though  two  hundred  years  have  since  gone  by.  The  river 
Istra  became  Jordan,  and  he  made  a little  one  for  Kedron, 
and  called  a village  at  a distance  Nazareth,  and  one  nearer 
by  was  Bethany ; and  with  these  sacred  associations  he 
gathered  around  him  the  odor  of  sanctity,  and  with  it 
came  dreams  of  power  and  glory,  such  as  priests  are  apt 
to  have  when  they  leave  the  service  of  God  and  substitute 
their  own  imaginings  for  the  teachings  of  his  word.  The 


FROM  ST.  PETERSBURG  TO  MOSCOW. 


327 


Czar  saw  what  he  was  at,  and  soon  let  him  down  from  his 
Jerusalem.  The  Patriarch  began  to  claim  civil  as  well  as 
sacerdotal  power.  Just  as  the  Bishop  of  Rome  became  a 
king  as  well  as  priest,  so  Nicon  would  sway  a sceptre  as 
well  as  a shepherd’s  crook.  He  put  stringent  laws  upon 
his  inferior  clergy,  and  they  became  restive  under  his  au- 
thority. He  rode  into  town  on  an  ass  in  profane  imita- 
tion of  Christ,  and  the  people  could  not  see  the  sense  of 
being  compelled  to  cast  their  garments  in  the  way  of  him 
who  was  so  unlike  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus  whom  they 
would  have  loved  to  honor.  His  tyranny  drove  them  to 
revolt,  and  many  sects  sprang  up  which  even  now  continue 
to  maintain  their  existence  in  the  empire  and  in  a certain 
hostility  to  the  regular  Greek  Church  of  the  empire.  Ni- 
con grew  more  and  more  despotic,  as  his  enemies  grew 
formidable  in  numbers  and  power.  He  seized  in  the 
houses  of  the  nobles,  wherever  he  could  find  them,  all 
pictures  not  painted  in  the  style  that  pleased  his  royal 
will.  In  all  his  dealings  with  them  he  claimed  the  au- 
thority of  the  sovereign.  He  was  fast  becoming  the  pope 
of  the  north.  At  last  the  Emperor,  no  longer  willing  to 
acknowledge  the  lordly  assumptions  of  this  proud  subject, 
refused  to  honor  his  festivals  with  the  royal  presence,  or 
to  recognize  the  Patriarch  as  spiritual  father.  Nicon  was 
enraged  at  this  slight,  and  thinking  to  humble  the  Czar, 
threw  off  his  robes  of  office,  resigned  his  crozier,  and 
retired  to  his  monastery  at  Resurrection.  The  sepulchre 
would  have  been  a more  fitting  place  for  retirement. 
Hither  he  supposed  the  Czar  would  hasten,  and  with 
apologies,  penitence,  and  tears  beseech  him  to  return  and 
resume  his  reign.  He  reckoned  without  his  host.  The 
Czar  could  make  and  unmake  such  ecclesiastics,  and  he 
put  another  man  in  his  place,  and  left  poor  Nicon  to  chew 
the  cud  of  regret  in  his  ignominious  solitude.  He  stood 
it  six  years,  and  then  sent  word  to  the  Czar  that,  after 


328 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


long  fasting  .and  prayer,  he  had  been  honored  with  a vision 
of  the  prophet  Jonah,  in  a dream,  who  had  told  him  it  was 
his  duty  to  resume  his  seat  on  the  patriarchal  throne  of 
Moscow.  But  the  Czar  could  not  see  it.  Jonah  said 
nothing  to  him  about  it,  and  he  had  an  idea  that  un- 
happy Nicon  might,  indeed,  have  had  a great  many 
dreams  of  the  same  kind,  but  that  Jonah  was  not  the 
man  to  make  patriarchs  for  him.  He  called  a council  of 
Eastern  patriarchs,  presided  in  the  midst  of  it  himself,  and 
this  council  came  very  naturally  to  the  decision  that  Nicon 
should  be  degraded  and  banished  to  a monastery  in  Nov- 
gorod. The  next  Czar  who  came  to  the  throne  pardoned 
Nicon,  who  soon  after  died. 

Such  was  the  sad  career  of  a great  genius,  whose  brief 
reign  was  signalized  by  the  aggrandizement  of  the  Rus- 
sian Church,  for  he  magnified  five  patriarchates,  — Con- 
stantinople, Antioch,  Alexandria,  Jerusalem,  and  Moscow. 
And  now  his  remains  are  lying  in  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre,  which  he  built,  in  the  chapel  of  Melchis- 
edek,  at  the  foot  of  the  Golgotha,  and  over  his  tomb  hang 
the  heavy  chains  which,  to  mortify  his  body,  he  wore 
around  his  person,  while  he  put  heavier  chains  on  the 
souls  of  those  whom  he  reduced  beneath  his  ghostly 
power. 

I think  there  is  a lesson  in  the  life  and  ‘death  of  such 
a man,  and  that  we  may  read  in  it  the  workings  of 
human  ambition  and  pride,  even  under  the  garments  of 
holy  offices  ; we  see  the  conflict  between  church  and  state, 
whenever  they  are  allied,  and  the  doom  that  awaits  the 
men  who  pervert  the  institutions  of  religion  to  their  own 
glory  and  the  oppression  of  others. 

We  are  now  approaching  Moscow.  Two  thousand  miles 
by  rail  we  have  come.  The  whole  region  over  which  we 
are  now  passing  seems  to  be  one  dead  level  of  lowly  toil- 
ing, dreary  living,  without  one  sign  of  such  enterprising 


FROM  ST.  PETERSBURG  TO  MOSCOW.  329 

life  and  energy  as  we  would  find  in  France  or  England, 
not  to  speak  of  that  young  world  in  the  West,  to  which 
freedom  seems  to  have  taken  her  flight. 

The  train  is  moving  slowly  into  town.  We  have  come 
to  Moscow.  We  are  at  the  gates  of  the  Kremlin  ! 


330 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  KREMLIN  AND  THE  BELLS  OF  MOSCOW. 

TV  /T  BILLOT  is  a Swiss  landlord,  who  keeps  a good 
-1YJL®  hotel  in  Moscow.  He  has  a charming  wife  and 
family  around  him,  a well-trained  corps  of  servants,  and 
makes  his  house  a home  for  American  and  English  guests. 
It  is  something  for  a weary  traveller  to  find  a home  when 
he  gets  to  Moscow. 

I have  but  one  fault  to  find  with  Moscow’s  bed  and  board. 
Mind,  it  is  not  a complaint  against  mine  host,  M.  Billot. 
It  is  the  fault  of  the  city,  that  it  is  full  of  fleas.  We 
charged  upon  them  with  a flea  powder,  the  second  night  of 
our  sojourn  there,  but  the  powder  about  M.  Billot’s  pillows 
was  as  troublesome  as  the  fleas. 

We  had  heard  of  this  house  and  landlord ; for  the  Swiss 
go  into  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  some  others,  to 
keep  the  hotels.  We  found  a connected  line  of  them  all 
through  Spain,  and  in  Italy,  and  they  commend  travellers 
to  each  other,  as  old  neighbors  ought  to  do.  So,  when  we 
arrived  at  Moscow,  we  gave  our  baggage  to  M.  Billot’s 
man,  he  put  us  into  a carriage,  and  away  we  were  whirled 
over  the  roughest  roads  that  we  had  ever  endured  in  a city. 
Moscow  seemed  to  be  too  small  for  its  people,  as  the  people 
appeared  to  be  too  sparse  for  St.  Petersburg.  The  streets 
were  thronged  with  people  in  the  pursuit  of  business,  and 
their  market-places  presented  the  liveliest  scenes  imagin- 
able. 

Frequent  churches  and  shrines  arrest  us  as  we  pass,  for 
every  Christian  crosses  himself  before  each  of  them  ; even 


THE  KREMLIN. 


332 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  coachman  in  front  of  us  drops  his  whip  from  his  right 
hand,  and  makes  the  sacred  sign  on  his  breast,  as  he  drives 
by  the  holy  place.  Some  stand  before  it  and  humbly  bow 
themselves  at  a great  distance  from  the  altar. 

Our  way  was  winding,  through  streets  that  had  no  aim 
apparently,  for  after  the  city  committed  suicide  in  1813,  on 
the  coming  of  Napoleon,  it  was  rebuilt  in  haste,  without 
plan  or  purpose,  but  to  get  shelter  for  living  and  trade. 
But  the  city  was  spread  out  to  a greater  extent,  and  grad- 
ually houses  of  more  architectural  taste  arose,  with  gardens 
about  them,  even  in  town.  Here  and  there  rises  a splendid 
palace  in  the  midst  of  the  white  cottages  of  humble  neigh- 
bors, and  the  three  hundred  and  seventy  churches  are  inter- 
spersed, with  their  green  or  gilded  cupolas  and  shining 
stars.  We  pass  long  rows  of  uniformly  painted  houses 
that  belong  to  some  public  institution,  and  then  we  break 
in  upon  a wide  square  where  the  people  seem  to  be  gath- 
ered for  some  special  purpose,  and  out  of  this  square  the 
streets  extend  on  every  side.  Then  we  come  to  the  high 
banks  of  the  river  Moskva,  which  flows  through  the  midst 
of  the  city,  and  on  either  side  of  it  are  splendid  edifices 
crowning  the  hills  that  rise  from  its  side.  The  map  of  the 
city  makes  it  appear  circular.  The  circumvallation  is  twenty 
miles  in  extent,  and  within  this  are  two  concentric  lines  of 
fortification,  rendered  necessary  perhaps  for  defence,  as  this 
remarkable  city  is  the  outpost  of  civilization  on  the  borders 
of  barbarism. 


THE  KREMLIN  OF  MOSCOW. 

I never  had  a very  definite  idea  of  the  Kremlin  of  Mos- 
cow. It  has  been  mentioned  in  books  about  Russia  as  a 
part  of  the  city  that  every  one  must  understand.  The 
Acropolis  of  Athens  and  of  Corinth,  and  the  Capitoline 
Hill  of  Rome,  enclosed  with  a wall  to  shut  them  off  from 
the  rest  of  the  city,  a refuge  for  the  people  in  time  of  peril, 


THE  KREMLIN  AND  THE  BELLS  OF  MOSCOW.  333 


the  site  for  the  most  sacred  temples  and  the  most  gorgeous 
palace  for  the  sovereign,  would  be  the  Kremlin  of  Athens, 
or  Corinth,  or  Rome.  As  far  back  as  in  1340,  walls  of  oak 
enclosed  these  heights.  A few  years  afterwards,  to  resist 
the  Tartars,  the  wooden  walls  gave  place  to  stone,  but  trea- 
son gave  the  fierce  barbarian  hordes  possession  of  the 
citadel,  and  the  walls  were  destroyed.  They  were  built 
again  and  again,  but  in  1485,  when  it  was  needful  to  pro- 
tect the  Kremlin  against  the  attack  of  artillery,  the  walls 
were  rebuilt  on  a scale  never  before  attempted.  The  solid 
and  lofty  stone  walls  now  enclose  an  area  of  about  a mile 
and  a half  in  circumference.  Five  massive  gates  admit  the 
flow  of  life  to  the  temples  of  religion  and  of  justice  within 
this  enclosure.  The  chief  entrance  is  called  the  “ Redeemer  ” 
Gate.  The  passage  through  the  wall  by  this  gate  is  like 
going  through  a railroad  tunnel.  It  is  a holy  hole,  for  over 
it  is  a picture  of  the  Redeemer  of  Smolensk,  and  no  one 
may  pass  under  it  without  taking  off  his  hat.  Formerly, 
whoever  was  so  hasty  or  forgetful  as  to  neglect  this  mark 
of  respect,  was  punished  by  being  compelled  to  prostrate 
himself  fifty  times  before  the  insulted  picture.  The  Em- 
peror of  all  the  Russias  never  fails  to  uncover  his  head  as 
he  enters  this  gate.  Hundreds  were  going  in  as  I ap- 
proached : on  foot,  in  droskies,  in  carriages,  but  all  were 
mindful  of  the  place,  and  entered  as  if  they  were  going 
into  a holy  place.  Between  the  Nicholas  and  Trinity  Gates 
are  the  arsenal  and  great  cannons,  some  of  them  monster 
guns,  quite  antiquated  by  modern  progress,  but  formidable 
in  their  proper  place ; and  the  long  rows  that  are  marked 
as  left  behind  by  the  French  in  their  retreat,  tell  a grim  tale 
of  the  madness  and  folly  of  that  disastrous  campaign. 
Through  this  very  Gate  Nicholas,  the  French  troops  under 
Napoleon  entered  the  Kremlin.  Short  as  the  stay  of  the 
Emperor  was  in  the  city,  it  was  long  enough  for  him  to 
attempt  to  blow  up  the  tower  over  this  gate  ; but  a miracle, 


334 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


as  the  superstitious  Russians  believe,  was  wrought  to  pre- 
serve it ; for  over  the  gate  is  a picture  of  St.  Nicholas,  “ the 
comfort  of  suffering  humanity,”  and  when  the  explosion 
took  place  which  was  to  blow  this  massive  structure  into 
ruins,  it  made  a rent  indeed,  extending  upward  to  the  frame 
of  the  picture,  and  there  it  suddenly  stopped,  not  cracking 
the  glass  over  the  picture,  nor  the  glass  lamp  hanging 
before  it ! And  Alexander  I.  caused  an  inscription  to  be 
put  up  in  memory  of  the  miracle. 

We  ascend  the  hill  and  stand  upon  a wide  paved  plateau, 
or  esplanade,  with  a scene  immediately  around,  before,  and 
below  us,  of  interest,  grandeur,  beauty,  and  novelty.  A 
cloudless  sky  and  a blazing  sun  are  over  us.  All  the  build- 
ings are  dazzling  in  whiteness,  and  the  domes  of  thirty-two 
churches  within  the  Kremlin,  and  hundreds  below  and 
around,  are  blazing  at  noon-tide  in  their  gold  and  green. 
Each  one  of  three  hundred  and  seventy  churches  has  sev- 
eral domes,  and  besides  them  there  are  theatres  and  palaces, 
and  convents  and  other  public  buildings,  roofs  painted 
green,  sides  white,  and  gilt  overlaying  domes,  turrets,  and 
spires.  Gardens  filled  with  trees,  among  the  dwellings, 
as  in  more  Oriental  cities,  and  the  river  circling  its  way 
into  and  out  of  the  town,  give  us  some  idea  of  what  Baby- 
lon or  Nineveh  might  have  been  in  their  vast  enclosure 
and  picturesque  rural  attractions  within  their  massive 
walls. 

In  the  midst  of  the  Kremlin,  and  above  every  other 
structure  in  Moscow,  rises  toward  the  sky  the  white,  solid, 
simple  Tower  of  Ivan  ; majestic  in  its  simplicity  and  height, 
as  if  it  were  the  axis  about  which  this  fairy  world  of  Mos- 
cow was  revolving,  it  stands  sublimely  there,  with  a bell  of 
444,000  pounds  at  its  foot,  and  another  of  130,000  swing- 
ing in  its  crown. 

At  the  foot  of  the  Ivan  Tower,  supported  by  a pedestal 
of  stpne,  is  the  largest  bell  in  the  world,  and  probably  the 


THE  KREMLIN  AND  THE  BELLS  OF  MOSCOW. 


335 


FLAK  ©E  THE  CENTRE  ©E  >IOSHYA  CITY. 


A.  THE  KREMLIN. 


1.  Uspenski  Sobore,  or  Cathedral . 

2.  A rchangelskoi  Sobore. 

3.  Annunciation  Church. 

4.  Spass  na  Boru  Church. 

5.  Birth  of  the  Virgin  Church. 

6.  Granovitaya  Palata . 

7.  Court  Church. 

8.  Uair  the  Martyr  Church. 

9.  Constantine  and  Helen  Church. 

10.  Ivanovskaya  Kolokolnya. 


11.  Twelve  Apostles  Church. 

12.  Holy  Synod  Office. 

13.  Chudor  Monastery 

14.  Voznesenskoi  Nunnery. 

15.  Our  Saviour' s Gate. 

16.  St.  Nicholas'  Gate. 

17.  Trinity  Gate. 

18.  Borovitskiya  Gate . 

19.  The  Secret  Gates. 


B.  THE  KITAI  GOROD. 


1.  Pokrovskoi  Sobore- 

2.  Kazanskoi  Sobore. 

3.  Iverskaya  Chapel 

4-25.  Churches  and  Monasteries  ; amongst 
which  No  7 is  the  Church  of  the  Mother  of 
God  of  Vladimir  ; and  No-  15,  the  Church 
of  the  Mother  of  God  of  Georgia % 


26.  Varvarskiya  Gate » 

27.  Ilyinskiya  Gate. 

28.  Nikolskiy  a Gate ■ 

29.  Voskresenskoi  Gate. 

30.  Monument  of  Minim  and 

Pojarskii '■ 


336 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


largest  that  ever  was  in  the  world.  A piece  is  broken  out 
of  its  side,  and  the  fragment  is  lying  near.  The  breadth 
of  the  bell  is  so  great,  — it  is  twenty  feet  across,  — that  the 
cavity  underneath  has  been  used  as  a chapel,  where  as 
many  people  can  stand  as  in  a circle  sixty  feet  around. 

In  Russia,  the  bell  is  an  instrument  of  music  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God  as  truly  and  really  as  the  organ  in  any  other 
country  ! This  fact  is  not  mentioned  in  the  accounts  we 
have  of  the  wonderful,  enormous,  and  almost  incredibly 
heavy  bells  that  have  been  cast  in  Moscow.  But  it. is  the 
key  to  what  would  otherwise  be  difficult  to  explain.  It 
appears  absurd  to  cast  bells  so  large  as  to  be  next  to  im- 
possible for  convenient  use  ; in  danger  always  of  falling  and 
dragging  others  to  ruin  in  their  fall.  But  when  the  bell  is 
a medium  of  communication  with  the  Infinite,  and  the  wor- 
ship of  a people  and  an  empire  finds  expression  in  its  ma- 
jestic tones,  it  ceases  to  be  a wonder  that  it  should  have  a 
tongue  which  requires  twenty-four  men  to  move,  and 
whose  music  should  send  a thrill  of  praise  into  every 
house  in  the  city,  and  float  away  beyond  the  river  into 
the  plains  afar. 

Moscow  is  the  holy  city  of  the  Greek  Church.  Pil- 
grims come  hither  from  thousands  of  miles  off,  and  on 
foot,  and  sometimes  without  shoes.  I have  seen  them 
with  staves  in  their  hand,  and  their  travel-worn  feet 
wound  up  in  cloths,  wending  their  way  to  the  sacred  hill. 
And  when  they  draw  nigh  unto  the  city,  and  on  the  even- 
ing air  the  music  of  these  holy  bells  is  first  borne  to  their 
ears,  they  fall  upon  their  faces,  prostrate,  and  worship  God. 
If  they  could  go  no  further,  they  would  be  content  to  die 
there,  for  they  have  heard  the  bells  of  Moscow,  and  on 
their  majestic  tones  their  souls  have  been  taken  up  to 
heaven.  This  is  the  sentiment  of  the  superstitious  peas- 
ant, and  it  is  a beautiful  sentiment,  ideal  indeed,  but  all 
the  more  delicate  and  exalted. 


THE  KREMLIN  AND  THE  BELLS  OF  MOSCOW. 


337 


As  long  as  five  hundred  years  ago,  this  casting  of  bells 
was  an  art  in  Russia.  It  is  one  of  the  fine  arts  now.  Per- 
haps our  great  bell-founders  will  not  admit  that  the  found- 
ers there  have  any  more  skill  in  their  manufacture  than 
we  have,  and  I am  not  sure  that  their  bells  have  any  tones 
more  exquisite  than  ours  would  have  if  we  would  put  as 
much  silver  and  gold  into  our  bell-metal  as  they  do.  But 
so  long  as  those  precious  metals  are  at  the  present  pre- 
mium, little  or  none  of  them  will  find  its  way  into  our 
church,  bells.  We  have  not  the  idea  of  the  Russian  as  to 
the  use  of  a bell.  We  use  it  to  call  the  people  to  the  house 
of  worship.  They  use  the  bell  for  worship.  Our  bells 
speak  to  us.  Their  bells  praise  God.  They  cast  their 
silver  and  their  gold  into  the  molten  mass,  and  it  becomes 
an  offering,  as  on  an  altar,  to  him  who  is  worshipped  with 
every  silvery  note  and  golden  tone  of  the  holy  bell. 

This  one  great  bell  is  the  growth  of  centuries.  In  1553 
it  was  cast,  and  weighed  only  36,000  pounds.  It  fell  in  a 
fire,  and  was  recast  in  1654,  being  increased  to  the  aston- 
ishing weight  of  288,000  pounds.  This  was  too  vast  a 
weight  to  be  taken  up  to  the  top  of  the  tower,  and  it  was 
sustained  by  a frame  at  the  foot  of  it.  In  1706,  it  fell  in 
another  fire  and  was  broken  into  fragments,  which  lay 
there  on  the  ground  about  thirty  years.  It  was  recast 
in  1733  ; four  years  afterwards  a piece  was  knocked  out 
of  the  side  of  it,  and  it  has  been  standing  here  on  the 
ground  more  than  a century.  It  weighs  444,000  pounds  ! 
In  the  thickest  part  it  is  two  feet  through.  It  has  relief 
pictures  on  it  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  of  the  Saviour 
and  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  the  evangelists. 

Ascending  the  Ivan  Tower,  we  find  on  three  successive 
stories  bells  to  the  number  of  thirty-four.  Some  of  these 
are  of  a size  to  fill  one  with  astonishment  had  he  not  seen 
the  giant  below.  The  largest  is  on  the  first  story  above 
the  chapel,  and  weighs  more  than  sixty  tons.  It  swings 


22 


333 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


freely  and  is  easily  rung.  I smote  it  with  the  palm  of  my 
hand,  supposing  that  such  a blow  could  not  produce  the 
slightest  vibration  in  such  a mighty  mass  of  iron,  but  it 
rung  out  as  clear  and  startling  as  if  a spirit  within  had 
responded  to  my  knock  without.  Two  bells  are  of  solid 
silver,  and  their  tones  are  exquisitely  soft,  liquid,  and  pure. 
It  was  exciting  to  go  from  one  to  another  and  strike  them 
with  their  tongues,  or  with  your  hand,  and  catch  the  va- 
riety and  richness  of  their  several  melodies. 

The  chapel  below  is  dedicated  to  the  patron  saint  of  all 
ladies  about  to  be  married,  and  it  may  be  readily  believed 
that  the  bell  that  gives  expression  to  their  prayers  will 
have,  at  least  to  their  ears,  the  sweetest  tone  of  all  the 
bells  in  Moscow. 

I came  down  from  the  Kremlin  to  my  lodgings  at  Bil- 
lot’s, and,  wearied  with  the  wanderings  of  the  day,  have 
been  lying  on  the  bed  and  looking  out  on  the  city.  It  is 
just  before  sunset,  and  the  day  has  been  oppressively  warm. 
A delicious  glow'  from  the  gorgeous  west  is  bathing  all  the 
domes  and  roofs  with  splendid  colors,  and  silence  is  steal- 
ing in  with  the  setting  sun  upon  the  crowded  town.  It  is 
the  eve  of  one  of  their  most  holy  festivals  of  the  church. 
One  vast  church  edifice  is  directly  in  view  of  my  window 
and  but  a short  way  off.  As  I lie  musing,  from  this  church 
comes  the  softest,  sweetest  tone  of  an  evening  bell.  An- 
other tone  responds.  A third  is  heard.  The  Ivan  Tower 
on  the  height  of  the  Kremlin  utters  his  tremendous  voice, 
like  the  voice  of  many  waters.  And  all  the  churches  -and 
towers  over  the  whole  city,  four  hundred  bells  and  more,  in 
concert,  in  harmony,  “ with  notes  almost  divine,”  lift  * up 
their  voices  in  an  anthem  of  praise,  such  as  I never  thought 
to  hear  with  mortal  ears  : waves  of  melody,  an  ocean 
of  music,  deep,  rolling,  heaving,  changing,  swelling,  sink- 
ing, rising,  overwhelming,  exalting.  I had  heard  the  great 
organs  of  Europe,  but  they  were  tame  and  trifling  com- 


THE  KREMLIN  AND  THE  BELLS  OF  MOSCOW.  339 


pared  with  this.  The  anthem  of  Nature  at  Niagara  is 
one  great  monotone.  . The  music  of  Moscow’s  bells  is 
above  and  beyond  them  all.  It  is  the  voice  of  the  people. 
It  utters  the  emotions  of  millions  of  loving,  beating,  long- 
ing hearts,  not  enlightened,  perhaps,  like  yours,  but  all 
crying  out  to  the  great  Father,  in  these  solemn  and 
inspiring  tones,  as  if  these  tongues  had  voices  to  cry  : 
“ Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,  heaven  and  earth 
are  full  of  thy  glory.” 


340 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  CHURCHES  OF  MOSCOW. 

W /E  were  alone  in  the  holiest  of  all  the  holy  places  in 
* * the  empire  of  Russia : a church  and  a sepulchre  ; the 
place  where  the  emperors  crown  themselves  and  the  pri- 
mates of  the  church  are  lying  in  their  grave-clothes  all 
around ; the  grandest  of  all  earthly  grandeur,  and  the 
solemn  evidences  of  the  mightier  power  of  King  Death 
staring  at  the  pageant  in  mockery  of  all  that  man  is  and 
does. 

We  were  alone  in  the  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption  ; four 
gigantic  gilded  and  pictured  columns  in  the  midst  of  it  sup- 
port five  great  domes  ; and  on  the  sides  are  arranged  the 
huge  sarcophagi  in  which  repose  the  bones  of  old  patriarchs 
whose  names  are  part  of  the  history  of  the  church,  and 
whose  relics  are  thus  kept  near  at  hand  impressing  the 
worshipper  with  something  of  awe,  as  one  will  feel  it  in  the 
presence  of  the  dead.  There  was  no  attendant  in  the  church 
when  we  entered,  and  the  deep  silence  reigning  seemed  be- 
fitting the  place.  We  were  silent,  for  the  grandeur  of  the 
scene,  the  historic  associations  with  the  place,  the  evidences 
around  us  that  this  spot  is  holy  in  the  eyes  and  hearts  of 
the  millions  of  this  vast  empire,  made  us  solemn.  Before 
us  is  the  Iconastasis,  or  screen  for  sacred  pictures,  and 
behind  this  screen  are  the  pictures  of  the  patriarchs  and 
fathers  of  the  church.  No  woman  may  enter  this  holy  place . 
It  is  very  plain  that  the  woman’s  rights  ideas  of  equality 
have  not  penetrated  this  veil.  Here,  too,  are  views  of  the 
final  judgment  scene,  and  of  the  life  and  death  of  the  Virgin 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  MOSCOW. 


341 


Mary.  These  sacred  pictures  surround  the  sanctuary , the 
holy  of  holies,  before  it  is  the  principal  altar,  and  behind  it 
the  throne  of  the  Archbishop  of  Moscow.  In  the  centre 
of  the  church,  with  the  four  great  pillars  at  each  corner,  is 
the  coronation  platform,  on  which  takes  place  the  most 
august  ceremony  known  to  the  Greek  Church  or  the  Rus- 
sian people.  We  cannot  enter  fully  into  the  sentiment  of 
awe  that  possesses  the  minds  of  a half-civilized  race,  who 
receive  their  sovereign  with  a mingled  conception  of  the 
divine  and  human  in  his  person.  He  seeks  to  perpetuate 
this  reverential  sentiment.  He  secludes  himself  from  the 
world  before  he  comes  to  take  the  imperial  crown ; he  mor- 
tifies himself  by  fasting  and  prayer ; and  when  the  appointed 
day  arrives  for  his  investiture  with  the  high  office  to  which 
God  has  called  him,  there  is  none  in  all  his  realm  that  is 
high  and  holy  enough  to  put  on  him  the  emblem  of  the 
power  he  is  to  take.  This  cathedral  is  thronged  with  the 
highest  dignitaries  of  church  and  state,  and  the  representa- 
tives of  other  empires,  eastern  and  western,  with  the  rich- 
est display  of  all  that  can  illustrate  the  glory  of  this  scene. 
They  surround  this  empty  platform,  and  gaze  upon  it  with 
fixed  expectancy.  A solitary  man  enters  and  ascends  alone  ; 
he  speaks,  but  it  is  to  repeat  the  words  in  which  is  expressed 
his  faith  in  the  doctrines  of  the  church  ; he  kneels  to  pray 
for  his  empire  ; he  takes  his  own  golden  crown,  and  with 
his  own  unaided  hands  he  places  it  upon  his  head ; he  de- 
scends, and  entering  the  holiest  sanctuary  takes  the  bread 
and  wine  from  the  altar,  and  thus  alone  with  God,  whom 
alone  he  confesses  to  be  his  superior,  he  consecrates  him- 
self to  the  throne  of  Russia.  Thus  from  Ivan  the  Terrible, 
all  the  way  down  to  the  Alexander  who  was  shot  at  in  Paris 
during  the  exhibition,  have  the  Czars  been  self-crowned  on 
this  sacred  spot. 

In  a side  chapel  near  the  altar  lies  Peter,  the  first  metro- 
politan of  Moscow,  with  a nail  of  the  Saviour’s  cross  and  a 


THE  RUSSO-GREEK  SERVICE. 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  MOSCOW. 


343 


part  of  his  seamless  robe.  On  the  right  is  the  coffin  of 
Philip,  who  had  the  courage  to  rebuke  the  Terrible  Ivan,  a 
terribly  brutal  ruler,  murdering  his  nobles  without  mercy, 
and  when  Philip  became  too  troublesome  he  murdered  him. 
Now  the  dead  prelate  lies  here  with  one  of  his  skeleton 
hands  exposed  to  view  on  his  breast,  and  it  is  part  of  the 
Emperor’s  service,  when  he  approaches  this  tomb,  to  kiss 
the  holy  bone,  that  is  left  convenient  for  the  purpose. 

Very  like  this  cathedral  is  that  of  the  Archangel  Michael 
close  by;  and  here  lie  the  coffins  and  relics  of  the  early 
rulers  of  the  Runic  and  Romanoff  dynasties,  all  the  way 
down  to  Peter  the  Great.  The  tomb  of  Demetrius,  son  of 
Ivan  the  Terrible,  is  the  most  sacred  of  all ; he  disappeared 
mysteriously,  and  the  country  was  plunged  into  a long  and 
bloody  civil  war ; and,  finally,  his  murdered  body  and  coffin 
were  brought  to  view  by  a miracle,  and  the  forehead  of  the 
dead  prince  being  exposed,  or  a hole  about  an  inch  in 
diameter  being  cut  through  the  coffin  and  the  forehead 
raised  up  to  it,  or  what  is  just  as  good,  a bone  being  put 
across  the  hole,  the  people  approach  with  reverence  and 
press  their  lips  upon  this  holy  and  disgusting  skull. 

Our  meditations  among  the  tombs  were  disturbed  by  the 
entrance  of  visitors,  many  of  them  natives  of  the  country, 
whose  reverence  in  the  midst  of  so  much  that  to  them  was 
specially  sacred,  we  could  not  fail  to  respect.  I cannot  kiss 
a bone  with  any  enthusiasm  ; but  there  is  no  accounting 
for  the  tastes  of  people ; and  disgusting  as  is  the  idolatry 
of  the  Greek  Church  to  me,  I know  that  many  English  and 
American  Christians  wish  to  have  that  church  united  to 
theirs.  I would  like  to  see  it  reformed  first. 

There  are  no  restrictions  on  religious  worship  in  Russia ! 
On  one  street  in  the  capital  of  Russia,  where  the  Emperor 
himself  resides,  and  the  Greek  Church  reigns  in  all  its  glory, 
there  are  six  churches  of  as  many  different  religious  per- 
suasions, all  protected  by  the  law. 


344 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  English  have  a church  of  their  own  in  Moscow,  and 
a rectory,  for  there  are  a large  number  of  English-speaking 
people  in  these  cities,  not  only  men  in  trade,  but  tutors  and 
governesses  who  are  induced  to  come  to  Russia  from  Eng- 
land to  teach  the  children  and  youth  the  English  language. 
It  is  quite  as  great  an  accomplishment  to  speak  English,  as 
with  us  it  is  to  speak  French.  And  such  is  the  extension 
of  business  westward,  it  is  quite  important  that  one  who 
is  in  commercial  pursuits  of  any  kind  should  understand  a 
language  which  more  rapidly  than  any  other  is  spreading 
over  the  world.  We  meet  more  Russians  speaking  our 
own  tongue  than  of  almost  any  other  people. 

During  the  Crimean  war  complaint  was  made  to  the 
Emperor  that  the  English  chaplain  in  Moscow  offered 
prayers  every  Sunday  that  Queen  Victoria  might  be  vic- 
torious over  all  her  enemies,  and  the  Emperor  replied  that 
the  chaplain  might  pray  for  the  Queen  or  anybody  else. 

In  the  city  of  Moscow  there  are  three  hundred  and 
seventy  churches  of  the  Greek  faith,  two  Roman  Catholic, 
and  four  Protestant ; of  these  four,  two  are  for  those  who 
worship  in  the  German  language,  one  French,  and  one 
English. 

On  the  Sabbath  I attended  the  Greek  service  in  the  St. 
Basil  Cathedral.  The  crowd  was  so  vast  that  multitudes 
were  unable  to  get  within  the  doors.  A narrow  door  at 
the  side  yielded  to  the  touch,  and  the  sacristan  received  us 
as  strangers  and  conducted  us  into  the  holy  place  where 
the  priests  were  performing  service.  A choir  of  five  — two 
old  men,  two  young  men,  and  a boy  — made  the  responses 
and  sang  parts  of  the  service  with  an  energy  and  power 
that  was  exciting  and  astonishing  as  we  stood  by  them  and 
saw  the  effort  they  made  to  give  effect  to  their  utterances. 
The  devotion  of  the  crowded  auditory  was  affecting.  If 
one  may  judge  of  emotion  by  what  he  sees  of  people  wor- 
shipping in  a strange  language,  he  must  believe  that  these 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  MOSCOW. 


345 


are  truly  devout,  and  deeply  impressed  with  the  services  in 
which  they  are  earnestly  engaged. 

It  is  Trinity  Sunday.  Wagon  loads  of  green  branches 
of  trees  are  carried  through  the  streets  for  sale.  Every 
house,  shop,  shrine,  church,  and  station  is  adorned  with 
evergreens  ; windows  and  doors  are  garlanded  ; the  hum- 
blest house  in  the  poorest  quarter  we  passed  through  had 
its  sprig  of  green,  and  where  the  poverty  of  the  person  pre- 
vented any  display,  it  was  evident  that  no  one  was  ashamed 
to  do  what  he  could  in  honor  of  the  day.  The  women  and 
children  carried  flowers,  the  lily  of  the  valley  seeming  to 
be  the  favorite ; and  bunches  of  it  were  constantly  offered 
for  sale,  by  those  who  would  do  a little  business  for  them- 
selves and  help  the  rest  to  worship  after  their  fashion. 

We  went  up  the  Kremlin  to  the  Archangel  Cathedral. 
Thousands  on  thousands  of  people,  a countless  multitude, 
were  standing  around  the  Ivan  Tower  and  the  big  bell,  un- 
able to  gain  entrance  into  any  church,  for  these  were  all 
filled  to  overflowing  by  the  densest  mass  of  sweltering 
humanity.  Many  of  this  crowd  were  common  and  unclean 
people,  like  the  very  poor  everywhere ; they  were  ragged, 
unshod,  and  dirty.  Those  in  better  order  had  long  frock- 
coats  on,  reaching  to  the  ground  nearly,  with  high  boots 
over  their  pantaloons.  These  crowds  were  quiet,  lounging 
around  as  if  they  had  nothing  to  do  and  were  doing  it 
patiently,  but  not  earnestly.  They  seemed  to  me  a dull, 
phlegmatic  race,  incapable  of  emotion;  but  this  is  a judg- 
ment of  no  great  account,  for  it  is  not  unlikely  the  Russians 
may  be  as  easily  roused  to  action,  for  good  or  evil,  as  the 
Germans  or  English. 

Work  of  all  sorts  was  going  on  in  the  city,  with  not  the 
slightest  indication  that  the  day  was  a sabbath.  It  was 
only  wonderful  that  so  many  people  could  be  busy  with  the 
work  of  every  day,  and  such  multitudes  at  leisure  to  enjoy 
a holiday. 


34-6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Now  and  then  a procession  of  poor  pilgrims  passed  along, 
with  sandals  of  bark  bound  upon  the  soles  of  their  feet,  for 
they  had  come  a long  distance  from  the  far  interior  to  wor- 
ship in  this  holy  city.  Weary  and  foot-sore  they  were,  men 
and  women,  in  scanty,  but  heavy  clothing,  even  in  this  hot 
weather,  and  wearing  a look  of  solemn  suffering  as  they 
trudged  along  with  staves  in  their  hands.  They  have  not 
yet  learned  that  the  hill  of  Zion  is  now  as  near  to  them  as 
in  the  Kremlin,  and  that  God  is  worshipped  acceptably 
only  by  those  who  worship  in  heart  and  truth.  Some  of 
these  pilgrims  may  be  beggars  so  disguised,  for  here,  as  at 
home,  there  is  no  form  of  swindling  more  common  than 
religious  imposture.  The  Russians  are  very  kind  and  ten- 
der to  idiots,  and  beggars  go  about  barefoot  even  in  winter, 
pretending  to  be  underwitted  ! 

On  the  wide  area  in  front  of  St.  Basil  is  the  Golgotha,  or 
skull  place,  a name  given  to  a circular  stone  platform,  said 
to  be  the  place  of  public  executions  in  old  times,  but  if  so, 
it  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  used  for  any  such  purpose. 
Here  the  Czar  sometimes  stands  in  the  midst  of  myriads  of 
his  subjects.  Here  the  Patriarch  blesses  the  people.  Here 
the  Patriarch  has  mounted  an  ass  and  the  Emperor  of  all 
the  Russias  has  led  the  beast  by  the  bridle  to  the  Cathe- 
dral of  the  Assumption.  But  the  church  has  no  such 
supremacy  over  the  state  now,  as  such  a ceremony  would 
imply.  The  Czar  is  a devout  member  as  well  as  head  of 
the  Greek  Church,  and  the  Patriarch  is  his  friend  and  co- 
adjutor. The  progress  of  the  truth  on  the  great  question 
of  religious  liberty  has  made  itself  felt  here  as  well  as  in 
western  nations,  and  with  all  the  ignorance  and  despotism 
and  superstition,  and  the  semi-civilization  of  this  people,  the 
government  does  not  obstruct  the  spread  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, nor  interfere  with  liberty  of  worship  in  any  part  of 
the  mighty  empire. 

One  of  the  priests  of  this  church  very  kindly  led  us  into 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  MOSCOW. 


347 


the  sacristy  of  the  former  patriarchs  and  now  of  the  Holy 
Synod,  where  he  would  show  us  the  treasury,  the  library, 
and  the  vestry  of  the  ancient  metropolitans  of  Russia  and 
the  patriarchs  of  Moscow.  It  was  the  same  old  story  which 
had  been  told  us  over  and  over  again  in  the  cathedrals  of 
the  Romish  Church,  ad  nauseam  ; and  unless  we  had  been 
advertised  of  the  fact,  we  would  not  have  supposed  that  we 
had  taken  a departure  from  Italy  or  Spain. 

A reliquary  containing  a part  of  the  purple  robe  which 
the  Saviour  of  sinners  was  clad  with  in  mockery  of  his 
kingship,  and  a bit  of  the  rock  of  Calvary,  are  among  the 
most  precious  relics  which  this  rich  collection  boasts  ; yet 
they  are  not  more  admired  by  the  faithful  than  the  robes 
which  were  worn  by  the  metropolitans  five  hundred  years 
ago,  and  are  now  exhibited  ; a sakkos  of  crimson  velvet, 
covered  with  great  pearls,  rubies,  emeralds,  almandines, 
garnets,  and  diamonds,  making  it  weigh  more  than  fifty 
pounds.  And  it  is  said  that  the  Czar  John  the  Terrible 
presented  this  priceless  robe  to  the  church  as  an  expiatory 
offering  after  he  had  caused  his  own  son  to  be  murdered. 
The  crimson  garment,  price  of  blood  or  not,  is  cherished 
with  religious  care  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  things  in 
the  treasury  of  the  Holy  Synod. 

But  it  is  more  wearisome  to  read  of,  than  it  is  to  see  and 
note  the  robes  and  mitres  and  images  worn  by  the  bishops, 
figures  of  the  Virgin  and  infant  Saviour  and  St.  John,  cut 
in  precious  stones,  the  crucifixion  scene  done  on  an  onyx 
stone,  and  others  in  gold  and  silver.  Yet  all  these  yield 
in  value  and  religious  interest  to  a few  pots  and  kettles 
which  are  used  in  this  chamber,  and  were  now  presented 
to  what  were  presumed  to  be  our  admiring  eyes.  It  may 
be  that  our  instantaneous  conversion  to  the  Greek  faith  was 
anticipated  as  the  effect  of  the  sight.  We  stood  it  un- 
moved, and  will  venture  to  describe  the  things  seen  with 
no  expectation  that  the  perusal  will  make  a convert  of  you. 


348 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Here  is  prepared  the  Holy  Oil,  or  Mir,  with  which  every 
orthodox  Russian  subject  is  baptized.  The  same  mixture 
is  used  to  consecrate  every  emperor  who  comes  regularly 
to  the  throne,  and  to  sanctify  every  church  in  the  empire 
that  is  to  be  used  for  worship  by  the  orthodox  Greek  com- 
munion. Now,  if  all  the  oil  to  be  used  for  all  these  pur- 
poses, in  an  empire  of  sixty  millions  of  people  and  by  the 
adherents  of  the  same  church  in  other  countries,  is  to  be 
prepared  in  this  room  and  by  the  priests  here  employed,  it 
is  plain  they  must  have  their  hands  and  kettles  full  pretty 
much  all  the  time. 

The  ceremony  of  oiling  a child  in  the  Greek  Church,  at 
its  baptism,  is  performed  by  the  priest  taking  a little  brush 
or  feather,  dipped  in  the  holy  chrism,  and  touching  with  it 
the  mouth,  eyes,  ears,  hands  and  feet,  back  and  breast ; the 
eyes  are  thus  anointed  that  the  child  may  see  only  what  is 
good,  the  ears  to  prevent  him  hearing  the  evil  that  is  in  the 
world,  the  lips  that  they  may  speak  the  truth,  the  hands 
and  feet  that  they  may  be  always  found  in  the  right  way. 
Whence  this  oil  that  has  such  wondrous  properties  ? When 
Christianity  was  first  introduced  into  Russia,  Constantinople 
furnished  an  infinitely  little  portion  of  holy  oil  that  was 
then  in  use  in  the  church  for  these  sacred  purposes  ; and 
this  portion  being  used  by  the  priests  in  preparing  a large 
quantity,  and  some  of  that  being  used  in  preparing  more, 
and  thus  from  time  to  time  each  new  supply  being  com- 
posed in  part  of  what  was  prepared  before,  it. comes  to^ass, 
on  the  strictly  philosophical  principle  of  the  infinite  divisi- 
bility of  matter,  some  of  the  same  unguent  that  came  from 
Constantinople  many  centuries  agone,  is  now  used  in  an- 
ointing the  eyes,  ears,  and  mouth  of  every  child  that  is 
baptized  in  Russia.  If  you  do  not  believe  it,  it  still  comes 
to  the  same  thing,  and  I do  not  see  that  it  makes  any  dif- 
ference. 

The  holy  chrism  is  made  by  the  clergy  during  Lent, 


THE  CHURCHES  OF  MOSCOW. 


349 


with  great  care  and  solemnity ; about  thirty  different  in- 
gredients being  used,  gums,  balsams,  and  spices.  These 
are  put  into  two  large  silver  kettles  and  a huge  caldron, 
scrupulously  clean ; and  when  the  mixture  is  thoroughly 
made  it  is  poured  out  into  sixteen  silver  jars,  which  are 
distributed  among  the  several  bishops  of  the  empire.  The 
silver  utensils  used  in  this  work,  and  all  of  which  are  ex- 
hibited as  the  most  sacred  treasures  of  the  church,  are  said 
to  weigh  thirteen  hundred  pounds.  And  with  them  is  a 
vessel  of  copper  with  mother-of-pearl  coating,  that  con- 
tained the  original  oil  as  it  came  from  Constantinople  ; and 
each  year  a few  drops  are  taken  out  of  it,  and  as  many  of 
the  new  mixture  returned,  so  that  the  supply  is  always 
kept  good,  and  the  faithful  of  the  church  believe  that  this 
is  the  true  succession  of  the  oil  with  which  Mary  anointed 
the  feet  of  her  Saviour. 


350 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

PALACE  AND  INSTITUTIONS  OF  MOSCOW. 

TF  you  are  weary  reading  of  royal  palaces,  you  will  be 
sorry  to  be  invited  to  the  one  more  gorgeously  adorned 
and  illustrated  than  any  other  which  you  and  I have  en- 
tered in  company.  You  have  often  heard  of,  and  perhaps 
have  seen,  some  specimens  of  barbaric  splendor!  You 
have  associated  with  the  word  barbaric , ideas  of  Oriental 
and  excessive  magnificence,  laid  on  without  the  more 
refined  and  chastened  taste  of  modern  civilization.  It  is 
a word  the  old  Romans  used  to  define  foreign  people , and 
whatever  came  to  Rome  from  foreign  parts  : all  the  world 
was  barbarous  or  Roman.  We  do  not  use  the  word  in  the 
same  sense  as  barbarous.  But  with  it,  in  connection  with 
gold  and  pearls  and  decorations  of  the  palace,  we  associate 
a wealth  of  luxury  and  brilliancy  of  ornamentation,  that 
would  suit  the  meridian  of  Persia  rather  than  of  Paris. 

Not  having  seen  the  palaces  of  the  interior  of  Asia,  I 
cannot  draw  a comparison  between  them  and  the  royal 
residences  of  European  monarchs.  But  we  are  now  on  the 
border  between  the  East  and  the  West,  between  Asia  and 
Europe,  between  barbarism  in  its  best  estate  and  civiliza- 
tion. Take  a map  of  the  world  and  see  where  Moscow 
stands  ! What  vast,  uncultured,  desolate  regions  lie  at  the 
east  of  it,  and  still  further  on,  what  empires  and  peoples 
that  make  up  the  bulk  of  the  human  race ! Out  of  the 
barbarism  of  that  eastern  portion  of  the  earth’s  plane, 
Russia  is  emerging,  and  Moscow  is  her  frontier  town ; a 


PALACE  AND  INSTITUTIONS  OF  MOSCOW. 


351 


wall  and  a monument : a sign  and  guide,  signifying  what 
Russia  has  been,  and  leading  on  to  something  higher  and 
better,  though  the  future  is  still  in  the  depths  of  political 
and  moral  uncertainties.  . 

The  Tartar  hordes  have  in  ages  past  been  fond  of  making 
raids  upon  Moscow,  and  leaving  her  palaces  heaps  of  smok- 
ing ruins.  In  old  times  the  Russians  built  them  of  wood 
for  the  most  part,  though  one  of  stone  erected  in  1484  is 
still  standing.  Then  the  Czars  removed  the  capital  to 
St.  Petersburg,  and  for  a long  time  the  Kremlin  was  with- 
out a palace  or  an  emperor.  The  celebrated  Empress 
Anne  gave  Moscow  a palace,  and  her  presence  now  and 
then,  and  Catharine  II.  designed  a royal  residence  so  vast 
and  gorgeous  as  to  rival  the  palaces  of  the  world,  but  it 
was  never  finished  ; its  model  is  preserved  as  a curiosity  in 
the  treasury.  What  she  did  build,  the  French  wantonly 
burned  when  they  were  compelled  to  desert  the  city  which 
its  own  inhabitants  had  consigned  to  destruction.  This 
house,  at  the  doors  of  which  we  have  been  standing  while 
I have  given  you  these  historical  facts,  is  the  work  of  the 
late  Nicholas,  and  is  only  about  twenty  years  old.  It  has 
no  likeness  in  the  various  orders  of  architecture  ; there  is 
no  correspondence  or  harmony  between  the  within  and 
without  of  it : yet  the  whole  interior  is  a blaze  of  gold  and 
upholstery  that  leaves  all  rules  of  taste  and  art  out  of  the 
question.  We  pass  through  the  Empress’s  drawing-room, 
hung  with  white  silk,  her  cabinet  in  crimson,  her  dressing 
and  bath  rooms  with  malachite  mantels  and  priceless  orna- 
ments ; the  Emperor’s  cabinet,  with  magnificent  paintings  of 
the  proud  French  coming  into  Moscow,  and  the  poor  French 
skulking  out,  — grim  satires  these  on  the  horrors  and  for- 
tunes of  war ; the  state  apartments,  with  huge  crystal 
vases  at  the  entrance ; the  Hall  of  St.  George,  with  the 
names  of  regiments  and  soldiers  inscribed  in  gold  upon  the 
walls,  who  have  been  decorated  with  this  order  for  bravery 


352 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


on  the  field ; the  Hall  of  St.  Andrew,  hung  with  blue  silk, 
and  inscribed  with  the  names  of  heroes ; the  Emperor’s 
throne,  more  ostentatious  and  imposing  than  any  other  in 
Europe  ; the  audience-chamber  and  banqueting-room,  on 
which  is  lavished  the  last  resource  of  gilt  and  paint  to 
make  a show,  — and  yet  when  we  are  ushered  into  the  Gold 
Court,  all  former  magnificence  is  for  the  moment  forgotten 
in  the  dazzling  splendor  that  fills  the  place,  as  if  the  walls 
were  blazing  with  living  golden  light.  A flight  of  steps  at 
one  end  of  the  room,  called  “ the  red  stair  case,”  is  never 
trodden  upon  but  when  the  Emperor,  on  the  greatest  of  all 
occasions,  goes  to  the  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption.  This 
is  part  of  the  old  palace  begun  by  Catharine,  and  has  a his- 
tory running  back  to  the  time  when  John  the  Terrible  stood 
here  and  saw  the  comet  that  he  construed  into  an  omen  of 
his  doom.  And  up  this  flight  of  stairs  came  Napoleon,  the 
greatest  of  actors,  when  he  took  possession  of  the  palace 
of  the  Kremlin.  And  when  he  went  down  these  stairs  he 
began  that  descent  which  never  stopped  till  he  touched  the 
bottom  of  his  tomb. 

The  right  wing  of  the  palace  is  the  treasury  building, 
with  the  most  remarkable  collection  of  objects  to  be  seen 
in  Russia.  The  Tower  of  London  illustrates  England  as 
this  museum  tells  the  history  of  the  Russian  empire.  Her 
past  and  present  intercourse  with  the  Asiatic  nations,  and 
her  more  modern  commercial  relations  with  the  West,  have 
made  Moscow  the  emporium  of  all  that  distinguishes  her 
ancient  and  modern  commerce,  and  exchange  of  presents 
when  treaties  have  been  made.  What  riches  of  plate, 
jewels,  silks,  manufactures,  which  China,  India,  Persia, 
Armenia,  and  other  powers,  peoples,  and  tribes  have  poured 
into  the  lap  of  this  colossal  power  in  the  progress  of  centu- 
ries! When  the  French  were  coming,  the  prudent  Rus- 
sians, foreseeing  the  evil,  removed  these  pearls  and  diamonds 
and  rubies,  these  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  these  costly 


PALACE  AND  INSTITUTIONS  OF  MOSCOW. 


353 


fabrics  of  art  and  toil  which  could  never  be  replaced,  and 
concealed  them  far  in  the  interior,  where  the  feet  of  the 
enemy  would  not  be  apt  to  follow  them. 

Among  the  historical  curiosities  here  preserved  with 
religious  care,  the  traveller  from  the  land  of  liberty  views 
with  sorrow  and  indignation  the  throne  of  Poland  ! Other 
thrones,  as  trophies  of  conquered  kingdoms,  stand  near. 
One  of  ivory  was  brought  from  Constantinople  in  1472. 
Another  is  from  Persia,  taken  as  long  ago  as  1660.  It 
is  covered  with  876  diamonds,  1,223  rubies,  and  many  other 
precious  stones.  Blazing  in  front  of  these  thrones  is  an 
orb,  which  the  Greek  emperors,  Basilius  and  Constantine, 
sent  to  Wladimir  Monomachus,  Prince  of  Kief,  with  a 
piece  of  the  true  cross ! This  orb  is  adorned  with  fifty- 
eight  diamonds,  eighty-nine  rubies,  twenty-three  sapphires, 
fifty  emeralds,  and  thirty-seven  other  stones,  and  with 
enamels  colored  in  the  highest  style  of  Grecian  .art,  to 
tell  the  story  of  King  David,  of  the  land  of  Israel. 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  institutions  of  Moscow  is  the 
hospital  for  foundlings,  into  which  about  twelve  thousand 
children  are  taken  yearly.  As  many,  if  not  more,  are 
received  into  a similar  institution  in  St.  Petersburg.  It  is 
said  that  no  cities  in  the  world  surpass  those  of  Russia  in 
the  comforts  provided  for  the  care  of  these  outcasts  from 
the  birth,  the  most  forlorn  and  helpless  of  all  the  objects 
that  appeal  to  human  sympathy.  The  government  makes 
a yearly  grant  of  about  a million  of  dollars  to  this  hos- 
pital in  Moscow,  and  it  has  large  resources  besides,  so  that 
there  is  no  lack  of  funds  to  meet  the  wants  of  these  unfor- 
tunate little  people,  whose  fathers  and  mothers  forsaking 
them  are  taken  up  by  the  Lord. 

In  some  cities  I have  seen  a table  made  to  revolve  outside 
the  walls  of  the  asylum,  and  in,  so  that  a child  could  be 
placed  upon  it  outside,  and  on  the  door-bell  being  rung  the 
table  would  be  set  in  motion,  and  the  infant  is  gently  rolled 

23 


354 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


into  the  house.  The  mother  or  friend  who  brought  the  child 
and  laid  it  upon  the  table  would  thus  be  relieved  of  its 
charge,  and  would  silently  depart,  leaving  the  child,  yet 
utterly  unseen  and  unknown.  This  system  has  its  advan- 
tages, and  many  attendant  evils.  But  here  in  Moscow  they 
affect  no  such  mystery  about  the  matter.  The  hospital 
receives  the  infant  children  of  poor  and  honest  parents 
who  are  willing  to  give  their  babes  to  the  state,  and  it  also 
takes  the  offspring  of  sin  and  shame  who  are  brought  by 
their  mothers  or  left  on  the  highway  and  picked  up  by  the 
police  or  the  wayfarer.  A reception-room  is  always  open. 
A man  or  woman  enters  with  a babe.  No  question  is 
asked  but  these  : — 

<4  Has  the  child  been  baptized  ? ” 

If  yes,  “ By  what  name  ? ” If  it  has  not  been  baptized, 
that  sacrament  is  at  once  administered,  and  the  name  given 
is  registered  opposite  a number,  which  is  hereafter  worn  as 
a sign  around  its  neck,  and  this  number  is  handed  to  the 
person  who  brings  the  child:  This  number  entitles  the 

bearer  to  come  back  any  time  within  ten  years  and  claim 
the  child.  The  nurses  are  mothers  who  have  left  their  own 
children  in  the  country,  and  come  here  to  get  the  wages 
and  living  in  the  hospital,  which  are  far  better  than  they 
enjoy  at  home.  And  some  of  the  nurses  are  the  mothers 
whose  children  are  here,  and  as  they  have  the  number  that 
marks  their  own,  they  can  easily  change  about  till  they  get 
the  care  of  the  babe  they  seek  to  watch,  without  its  ever 
being  known  to  be  theirs. 

Nothing  is  now  wanting  that  medical  skill  and  good 
nursing  can  supply  to  preserve  the  lives  of  these  orphans. 
We  go  from  ward  to  ward,  admiring  the  cleanliness, 
order,  and  comfort  on  every  side.  The  babes  are  bathed 
in  copper  tubs,  convenient  in  shape,  and  lined  with  thick 
flannel.  They  are  not  laid  on  the  hard  knees  or  sharp 
hoops  of  unfeeling  nurses  to  be  dressed,  but  they  are  suf- 


PALACE  AND  INSTITUTIONS  OF  MOSCOW. 


355 


fered  to  lie  on  pillows  of  down  while  this  operation  is 
performed.  After  four  weeks  of  such  tender  care,  and 
when  the  child  may  be  supposed  to  have  gained  some 
strength,  they  are  sent  with  their  nurses  into  the  coun- 
try. They  are,  however,  exposed  to  such  a climate,  and 
the  fare  of  the  peasantry  is  so  coarse,  that  it  takes  a tough 
child  to  weather  the  first  year  of  life,  and  at  least  one-half 
of  them  die  before  they  are  twelve  months  old.  Half  of 
the  remainder  who  survive  the  year  fall  by  the  way  before 
they  grow  up ; and  so  it  comes  to  pass  that  only  one  quar- 
ter, twenty-five  out  of  a hundred,  of  these  children  of  the 
state  live  to  be  men  and  women.  This  is  a small  pro- 
portion, and  it  is  quite  likely  that  full  as  many  of  them 
would  have  lived  to  grow  up,  if  there  had  been  no  hospital 
to  care  for  them. 

Another  institute  we  find  here  in  Moscow  that  has 
nothing  to  match  it,  and  cannot  have  in  our  democratic 
country.  The  female  orphan  children  of  servants  of  the 
Emperor  are  taken  into  it,  and  eight  hundred  are  constantly 
receiving  an  education  to  fit  them  for  being  teachers ! 
They  are  bound  to  devote  six  years  after  they  leave  the 
institute  to  the  business  of  teaching  in  the  interior  of  the 
empire.  They  have  a small  salary,  and  thus  provide  for 
themselves  while  they  are  doing  a good  work  for  the  state. 
No  foundlings  are  admitted  into  this  house.  The  orphans 
are  all  supposed  to  be  children  of  honest  parents,  and  this 
supposition  keeps  up  a higher  tone  of  self-respect  than 
would  be  possible  among  a thousand  children  who  did  not 
know  who  their  parents  are. 

Wolves  in  sheep’s  clothing  we  have  read  of  in  the  figure 
language  of  the  Bible,  but  men  in  sheep’s  clothing  I had 
never  seen  till  I met  them  to-day,  in  midsummer,  in  the 
market-places  of  Moscow.  They  could  have  but  one  suit 
of  clothing,  and  to  cover  their  nakedness  must  wear  it 
summer  and  winter.  It  was  made,  “ coat  and  pants,”  of 


356 


ALlfAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


sheepskin  with  the  wool  on,  and  was  worn  by  some  with 
the  wool  outside,  and  by  others  with  the  wool  in.  On  a 
day  like  this  of  sweltering  heat,  when  it  was  not  safe  for 
us  to  walk  in  the  sun  without  parasols,  these  natives  of  the 
north,  with  their  winter  clothes  on,  were  not  apparently 
oppressed ; and  it  was  a comfort  to  believe  that  they  had 
become  accustomed  to  it,  and  had  no  idea  of  any  thing 
more  enjoyable  than  an  indefinite  degree  of  heat. 

As  winter  is  the  longer  half  of  the  year,  it  is  the  harvest 
time  for  those  who  are  in  the  line  of  buying  and  selling 
meats  and  all  provisions  that  are  preserved  by  frost.  As 
soon  as  the  cold  weather  fairly  sets  in,  the  fatted  cattle  and 
pigs  and  poultry  are  doomed  to  die  by  the  hands  of  the 
butcher.  The  carcasses  are  instantly  frozen  and  sent  to 
market.  Here  it  is  packed  up  in  enormous  heaps,  and 
families  who  are  able  to  buy  at  wholesale  prices  lay  in  their 
winter  supplies,  and  those  who  live  from  hand  to  mouth 
can  buy  at  any  time  fresh  meat  that  was  killed  in  the  fall. 
The  weather  is  so  uniformly  cold  that  little  danger  of  a 
thaw  is  apprehended,  but  if  it  comes,  away  goes  the  meat. 
And  it  must  at  any  time  be  cooked  immediately  on  thaw- 
ing, so  that  it  is  rather  a precarious  mode  of  preserving 
provisions.  But  it  is  adapted  to  the  country  and  climate, 
it  saves  packing  and  salting,  and  has  the  advantage  of 
furnishing  fresh  meat,  at  moderate  prices,  at  all  times. 
The  fish  from  the  White  Sea  are  also  kept,  like  wood- 
piles,  in  heaps  with  oxen  and  sheep  and  deer.  The  flesh 
of  mammoths  and  elephants  of  past  ages  has  been  found 
in  perfect  preservation  in  the  icy  regions  of  the  north,  and 
it  is  certainly  one  of  the  remarkable  provisions  of  nature 
that  cold,  which  is  so  destructive  of  animal  life,  should  also 
be  the  preserver  of  flesh,  for  indefinite  periods,  after  the 
life  principle  has  been  extinguished. 

The  Jews  in  Chatham  Street,  New  York,  who  press 
their  wares  upon  the  notice  of  passers  by,  are  modest 


PALACE  AND  INSTITUTIONS  OF  MOSCOW. 


357 


compared  with  the  vendors  of  old  clothes  and  miscellane- 
ous matters  in  the  markets  of  Moscow.  It  was  hard  to  get 
away  from  them  without  making  an  investment  in  the  most 
undesirable  of  all  worldly  goods,  — a coat  that  somebody 
else  had  cast  off.  And  such  a jumble  of  things  ! remind- 
ing one  of  the  sign  on  the  country  store  window-shutter 
of  an  alliterative  dealer:  “Bibles,  Blackball,  Butter,  Tes- 
taments, Tar,  Treacle,  Godly-books,  and  Gimlets,  for  sale 
here.”  Ironware,  pot-metal,  in  the  shape  of  utensils  for 
cooking,  seemed  to  abound  ; and  if  the  poorer  people,  who 
are  the  buyers  here,  have  any  thing  to  cook,  it  is  very 
pleasant  to  know  it.  Their  food  is  mainly  miik,  eggs, 
pickles,  cabbage,  and  black  bread,  with  beef  and  mutton 
according  to  their  ability  to  buy  it.  As  a general  thing  the 
Russian  peasants  are  not  underfed ; the  land  being  so 
largely  in  the  immediate  care  of  the  laborer  himself,  he 
can  manage  to  get  food  for  himself  and  family.  And  as 
they  clothe  themselves  in  the  rudest  and  most  primitive 
way,  literally  using  skins  of  beasts,  and  in  their  natural 
state,  they  ought  to  be  able  to  live  comfortably  without 
handling  much  money. 

The  “ Riding  School  ” of  Moscow  is  the  building  in 
which  a remarkable  museum  is  gathered.  This  building 
is  one  of  the  longest  with  an  unbroken  area  in  the  world, 
the  roof,  without  g.  column  to  support  it,  covering  a space 
560  feet  long  and  160  wide.  It  is  constructed  on  this  enor- 
mous scale  for  the  exercise  of  regiments,  cavalry  and  foot, 
in  winter,  when  the  weather  is  so  severe  as  to  render  drills 
out  of  doors  impossible.  The  Ethnological  Society  of  the 
North  of  Europe  had  selected  this  place — -and  it  was  my 
good  fortune  to  be  here  at  the  time— -for  the  exhibition  of 
the  Slavonic  races  in  wax ! Here  they  are  in  all  their 
varied  employments,  according  to  the  climate,  habits,  and 
necessities  of  the  several  peoples ; with  their  actual  sur- 
roundings of  forest,  ice,  snow,  sea,  river ; the  men,  women, 


358 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


and  children,  with  dogs,  poultry,  oxen,  reindeer,  and  sledges, 
hunting  and  fishing,  freezing  and  trying  to  keep  warm, 
marrying  and  trading  and  travelling ; here  are  Albanian 
costumes,  and  there  a cavern  and  human  skeletons  sitting 
in  it,  telling  a story  I could  not  understand,  and  here  a 
cottage  out  of  whose  roof  the  smoke  curls  gracefully, 
and  the  open  door  and  chickens  and  children  playing  near, 
need  no  interpreter  to  speak  of  comfort  and  content. 

If  one  were  writing  a volume  of  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  Slavonic  races,  he  would  learn  more  of  them  by  the 
study  of  this  museum  than  in  months  of  travel  among  the 
people.  The  society  is  composed  of  learned  and  thought- 
ful men  of  Russia,  Poland,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  &c.,  who 
meet  annually  for  the  collection  and  diffusion  of  useful 
knowledge  on  the  subject  of  their  own  race  specially  and 
the  family  of  man.  We  are  very  apt  to  think  that,  outside 
of  our  own  English-speaking  countries,  there  is  little  doing 
to  promote  the  civilization  and  thus  the  happiness  of  the 
human  race.  Travel  takes  this  and  many  other  conceits 
out  of  a man.  One  of  the  first  things  he  learns,  if  he  is 
capable  of  learning  any  thing,  is  that  he  knows  very  little 
of  what  is  going  on  in  the  world.  Then  he  finds  that 
people  whom  he  thought  slow  and  only  half  civilized  are  far 
ahead  of  him  in  many  things,  and  by  degrees  he  comes  to 
the  conclusion  that  there  is  much  in  the  world  to  be  learned 
that  he  had  never  dreamed  of.  But  if  he  sticks  to  it  that 
what  he  does  not  know  is  not  worth  knowing,  like  my  fel- 
low countryman  who  insists  that  there  is  more  art  in 
Illinois  than  in  all  Europe,  then  you  may  be  sure  that  he 
answers  to  the  cane  shown  to  Sydney  Smith  by  one  of  this 
sort  of  travellers  who  said : 

“ This  stick,  sir,  has  been  all  around  the  world,  sir.” 

“ Is  it  possible,”  replied  Mr.  Smith,  “ why  it’s  nothing  but 
a stick  for  all  that ! ” 


FROM  MOSCOW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 


359 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

FROM  MOSCOW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 

A COUPLE  of  English  commercial  travellers  arrived 
to-day  and  were  very  conversable  at  dinner.  No 
class  of  men  one  meets  abroad  are  more  free  to  impart  what 
they  know,  than  these  agents  of  trading  houses  in  England, 
who  infest  all  countries,  and  push  their  way  into  every 
company  that  is  willing  to  hear  their  ceaseless  flow  of  talk. 
At  dinner  one  of  them  asked  a Frenchman  in  what  country 
of  Europe  Egypt  was  situated,  and  the  Frenchman  did  not 
know  ; they  discussed  the  subject  for  some  time,  neither  of 
them  thinking  it  was  not  in  Europe  at  all.  But  the  two 
having  failed  to  settle  the  geographical  position  of  Egypt 
came  back  to  matters  nearer  at  hand,  and  the  invasion  of 
Russia  by  the  French  and  the  downfall  of  Napoleon,  made 
the  conversation  lively.  For  when  did  or  will  a Frenchman 
and  Briton  agree  upon  the  character,  the  genius,  or  the 
deserts  of  the  Man  of  Destiny.  And  this  led  to  the  men- 
tion of  the  Sparrow  Hills,  and  to  an  excursion  thither, 
from  which  we  have  just  returned. 

On  our  way  out  of  the  city,  we  passed  the  church  of  the 
Saviour,  the  largest  church  in  Moscow,  with  the  most 
splendid  dome,  which,  being  covered  with  gilding,  looks  like 
a mighty  sun  rising.  The  church  has  been  in  process  of 
building  more  than  fifty  years,  and  is  far  from  being  finished 
yet.  It  is  intended  as  a memorial  of  the  French  invasion 
and  its  awful  fate  ; and  it  was  begun  in  the  year  1812,  so 
memorable  for  that  critical  event  in  the  history  of  Russia, 


360 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


of  France,  and  of  mankind.  And  it  was  on  the  Sparrow 
Hills  that  Napoleon  first  saw  Moscow. 

An  hour’s  ride  from  the  hotel  brought  us  to  the  Simonoff 
Monastery,  which  has  been  here  through  all  the  storms  of 
weather  and  war  these  last  five  hundred  years.  Rich  in 
lands  with  thousands  of  serfs,  and  the  treasury  into  which 
emperors  and  princes  poured  their  royal  gifts,  it  has  been 
sacked  again  and  again  by  invading  hordes,  but  has  lived  on, 
with  six  churches  within  its  walls.  A lake  near  by  is 
reached  by  an  underground  passage,  and  miracles  of  heal- 
ing are  said  to  be  wrought  upon  the  sick  who  come  here 
with  faith,  and  stay  until  they  get  well.  In  the  midst  of 
the  enclosure  rises  a tower  more  than  three  hundred  feet, 
and  a blind  bell-ringer  delights  in  leading  you  to  the  look- 
out loft,  and  answering  every  question  you  can  ask  re- 
specting every  object  in  your  sight.  You  may  be  sure  that 
he  is  right  in  his  answers,  though  he  is  blind  as  a bat. 

The  Novo-Devichi  Convent,  with  six  churches  and  a ro- 
mantic history,  the  Donskoi  Monastery,  and  the  Novo- 
spaski  Monastery,  are  scattered  through  this  region,  and  are 
all  visible  and  accessible  in  the  visit  to  the  hill  country 
around  Moscow.  But  the  roads  are  wretched  and  the 
weather  hot ; the  sun  is  getting  low  in  the  west,  and  we 
are  in  haste  to  enjoy  the  glories  that  are  to  burst  upon  our 
sight  when  we  come  to  stand  where  Napoleon  stood  at  the 
head  of  his  proud  legions  and  first  saw  Moscow ! 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill  flows  the  river  Moskva,  and  row- 
boats are  plying  back  and  forth  to  carry  the  many  passen- 
gers, chiefly  of  the  humbler  classes  of  people,  who  are  going 
to  and  from  the  hills,  on  this  feast-day  in  the  Church,  and 
so  a holiday  for  them  all.  Leaving  the  carriage,  we  were 
ferried  across  and  then  climbed  the  hills,  where  hundreds 
of  the  Muscovites  were  enjoying  themselves  on  the  green 
slopes,  eating,  drinking,  and  laughing  gaily,  playing  tricks 
upon  one  another,  and  making  themselves  merry,  as  the 


FROM  MOSCOW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG.  36 1 

same  class  of  people  do  in  every  part  of  the  world.  And 
it  is  pleasant  to  think  that  other  people  have  “ a good  time  ” 
as  well  as  we,  in  what  clime  soever  they  chance  to  live,  and 
however  much  they  lack  the  things  that  we  think  indis- 
pensable to  enjoyment.  Some  of  them  were  playing  cards 
on  the  ground,  some  were  drinking  quas , a strong  spirit ; 
and  some  who  had  already  taken  too  much  for  their  man- 
ners, called  out  saucily  to  us  to  come  and  take  a drink  of 
gin. 

Before  us,  as  we  turned  on  reaching  the  brow  of  the  hill, 
stood  the  holy  city  of  Russia,  its  ancient  capital,  the  border 
city  between  the  Eastern  and  the  Western  worlds ! The 
sun  unclouded  and  intensely  glowing  is  behind  us,  and 
shedding  its  golden  radiance  in  floods  upon  the  domes  and 
pinnacles  of  three  hundred  and  seventy  churches,  countless 
towers  and  roofs  and  walls,  the  Kremlin  standing  above 
the  rest  in  its  majesty,  with  its  crown  of  cathedrals  and 
palace,  a constellation  of  splendor  rarely  equalled  in  the 
cities  of  the  world.  The  river  makes  a circular  sweep 
through  the  plain  at  our  feet,  and  then  flows  through  the 
city. 

It  was  June,  1812,  when  Napoleon,  at  the  head  of  the 
French  army,  crossed  the  Niemen  and  pushed  on  to  Wilna, 
from  which  the  Russian  army  retired,  drawing  him  on  in 
pursuit,  and,  with  masterly  foresight,  involving  their  enemy 
in  more  and  more  hopeless  difficulties.  Napoleon  would 
have  been  glad  to  meet  the  Russians  in  signal  battle,  but 
the  leader  of  the  Russians  understood  his  ground  too  well 
to  risk  an  engagement.  The  Emperor  Alexander,  however, 
had  not  the  sagacity  to  perceive  nor  the  patience  to  bear 
the  policy  of  his  general,  and,  displacing  him,  put  another 
man  in  his  place,  who  gave  battle  at  Borodino  on  the  first 
day  of  September,  when  80,000  men  were  killed  or  wounded, 
and  the  Russians  retired  to  Moscow.  The  French  were 
sadly  crippled  by  the  losses  in  this  battle,  and  their  provi- 


362 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


sions  were  now  nearly  exhausted.  They  were  hastening  on 
to  the  capture  of  Moscow  to  save  their  own  lives.  On  the 
1 2th  of  September  the  Russian  army  silently  marched  out 
of  the  city,  carrying  with  them  every  thing  that  could  be 
removed.  Of  three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  only  the 
convicts  and  a few  others  remained  to  take  the  chances  of 
war. 

On  the  very  next  day.  the  advance  of  the  French  army 
reached  the  brow  of  the  hill  where  we  were  standing  a few 
hours  ago  ; and  Napoleon,  excited  by  the  sight  of  the  sunny 
domes  and  roofs  of  the  golden  city,  cried  out,  “ All  this  is 
yours.”  The  soldiers  caught  up  the  cry,  “ Moscow  ! Mos- 
cow!” and  it  ran  like  fire  along  the  ranks  till  the  whole 
army  shouted  in  concert,  “ Moscow  ! Moscow  ! ” An  hour 
or  two  more  and  they  made  their  triumphal  entry  into  a city 
whose  gates  were  open  without  a defender,  and  to  the  dismay 
of  the  conqueror  the  city  was  a desert  without  food  or  in- 
habitants. Through  the  deserted  streets  and  up  to  the  sacred 
gate  of  the  Kremlin  the  conqueror  took  his  silent  and  sullen 
way,  and  ascended  the  steps  of  the  palace  which  was  left 
ready  for  his  reception.  He  had  reached  the  end  of  his 
awful  march  of  two  thousand  miles,  but  one  was  before 
him  more  terrible  by  far.  His  army  was  starving,  and 
the  city  was  empty.  On  the  morning  following  his  occu- 
pation, a fire  broke  out  and  defied  all  efforts  to  arrest  it. 
Perhaps  the  wretched  remnant  of  inhabitants  were  the  in- 
cendiaries. This  is  not  a settled  question.  But  the  sol- 
diers sought  to  save  the  city,  and  could  not.  The  hospitals, 
in  which  20,000  wounded  had  been  left,  were  consumed. 
The  glorious  churches  were  now  shining  in  flames.  The 
palaces  and  houses  of  the  rich  were  given  up  to  the  sol- 
diery, and  the  sacredness  of  temples  and  altars  was  no 
protection  against  the  lawless  rabble  that  rioted  in  the  ruin 
and  plunder  of  the  town.  The  liberated  convicts  and  rag- 
ged poor  ravaged  the  homes  of  princes  and  the  vestries  of 


FROM  MOSCOW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 


363 


priests,  and  now  roamed  the  streets  in  furs  and  robes. 
What  the  fire  spared  the  battle-axe  destroyed.  Works  of  art 
and  elegance  and  luxury,  the  vast  accumulations  of  wealth 
and  ages,  all  went  down  in  the  vortex  of  remorseless  war. 

And  now  Napoleon  sought  to  make  peace  with  the  enemy 
whose  chief  city  he  had  in  his  possession.  But  his  enemy 
was  his  master,  and  refused  to  hear  of  peace.  After  a 
month  of  delay,  and  the  dreadful  winter  of  the  North  at 
hand,  he  set  off  with  his  shattered  hosts  to  return.  And  the 
story  of  that  return  is  frozen  into  the  memory  of  man.  Its 
horrors  the  pencil  has  sought  to  portray,  and  no  pen  can  do 
it  justice.  The  frost  and  snow  made  havoc  with  the  miser- 
able soldiers  : they  froze  by  thousands  and  died  on  the  march. 
Wild  disorder  reigned,  and  death  was  the  only  commander 
whom  officer  or  man  obeyed.  Napoleon,  always  true  to 
himself,  deserted  his  faithful  army  and  fled  to  Paris.  Of 
the  half  a million  of  men  who  composed  his  troops  when  he 
began  the  invasion  of  Russia,  about  200,000  were  made 
prisoners,  125,000  were  slain  in  battles,  and  130,000  perished 
by  cold,  hunger,  and  fatigue  ! A disaster  without  a parallel 
in  the  annals  of  the  race. 

And  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  The  powers  of 
Europe  combined  against  him,  and  the  world  knows  the 
story. 

Moscow  is  a city  of  so  much  historical  interest,  and  it  is 
so  peculiar  in  its  architecture,  plan,  and  people,  that  we 
have  lingered  longer  than  perhaps  has  been  agreeable  to 
you.  But  the  time  was  when  Moscow  was  far  more  of  a 
city  than  it  is  now.  Two  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago 
(it  is  written  in  history),  Moscow  had  two  thousand 
churches  ; but  the  statements  of  the  former  population  of 
this  city  are  so  astounding  as  to  be  scarcely  credible.  In 
1600  the  plague  made  such  ravages  here  that  127,000  per- 
sons were  dead  in  the  streets  at  one  time,  and  500,000  died 
in  the  city.  All  of  these  stories,  including  the  number  of 


364 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  churches,  must  be  greatly  exaggerated,  and  yet  they 
are  some  index  to  the  former  extent  and  power  of  this  splen- 
did capital.  But  all  this  greatness  must  have  been  when 
the  people  were  only  a little  removed  from  barbarism.  Dr. 
Collins,  physician  to  the  Czar,  says  in  1670,  “the  custom 
of  tying  up  wives  by  the  hair  of  the  head  and  flogging  them, 
begins  to  be  left  off”  It  was  certainly  time,  though  it  was 
two  hundred  years  ago.  No  traces  of  that  ancient  custom 
remain.  The  doves  that  inhabit  the  streets,  are  held  to  be 
sacred  birds,  emblems  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  more  of  the 
spirit  of  love,  than  would  be  indicated  by  such  rough  treat- 
ment of  wives,  may  be  counted  upon  as  prevailing  within 
the  houses  where  these  peaceful  birds  are  cherished.  In 
no  country  that  I have  been  in,  is  there  more  kissing  done 
in  public.  At  the  railroad  stations  and  in  the  market 
places,  when  a party  of  friends  meet,  they  rush  into  each 
other’s  embrace,  and  all  kiss ; the  men  the  men,  the  women 
the  women,  and  the  men  and  women  kiss  each  other. 
These  are  the  peasants.  I could  not  say  that  it  is  common 
among  the  more  cultivated  people. 

Our  host,  M.  Billot,  sent  us  to  the  station  with  extra  style  ; 
his  wife  was  going  into  the  country  to  see  her  children  at 
school,  and  in  her  private  carriage  we  were  to  ride  to  the 
depot  with  her,  as  a special  mark  of  attention.  During  our 
stay  in  Moscow  the  family  had  done  every  thing  in  their 
power  to  make  the  visit  agreeable,  and  it  was  crowned  with 
this  last  act  of  attention,  an  escort  to  the  station  when  we 
took  our  leave. 

There  is  but  one  train  in  twenty-four  hours  from  Moscow 
to  St.  Petersburg,  and  as  it  is  to  be  a ride  of  twenty  hours, 
it  is  important  to  have  some  accommodations  for  sleeping. 
Our  experience  in  going  to  Moscow  had  been  so  unhappy 
that  we  sought  to  improve  upon  the  matter  on  the  return 
trip.  We  learned  that  the  first-class  cars  were  arranged  in 
compartments  for  six  persons,  and  that  the  seats  at  night 


FROM  MOSCOW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 


365 


were  to  be  converted  into  berths,  so  that  each  passenger 
buying  a ticket  was  also  the  holder  of  a berth  for  sleep- 
ing in.  The  compartments  were  elegantly  fitted  up,  and 
we  (two  of  us)  found  ourselves  upon  setting  off,  on  one 
side,  and  two  Russian  ladies  on  the  other.  They  spoke 
the  French  language,  and  being  as  innocent  of  English,  as 
we  of  Russ,  the  conversation  that  soon  sprang  up,  was  in 
the  only  tongue  we  could  use  in  common.  The  apartment 
was  hot  to  the  verge  of  suffocation.  We  put  up  a window, 
which  in  a bright  June  day  would  be  considered  pleasant 
in  any  country,  but  the  ladies  gave  instant  signs  of  appre- 
hensions that  they  would  take  cold.  Soon  one  of  them 
shut  the  window  with  a decision  that  forbade  appeal.  We 
ventured  to  set  the  door  open  to  admit  the  air  from  the 
open  window  across  the  passage,  but  this  was  too  much 
for  the  sensitive  women,  and  we  had  to  close  it.  I found 
the  same  dread  of  cold  in  hot  weather  to  be  common  to 
all  the  natives.  An  omnibus,  the  body  of  which  was  made 
of  sheet  iron,  which  I was  riding  in  on  a blazing  summer- 
day,  was  heated  literally  like  an  oven.  I was  obliged  to 
leave  it,  but  the  people  evidently  enjoyed  the  baking.  They 
have  it  so  cold  in  cold  weather,  that  the  brief  hot  season 
seems  to  be  refreshing,  and  the  hotter  the  better  they  like 
it.  At  four  p.  m.  we  stopped  at  Klin  for  dinner  — thirty 
minutes  — all  seated  at  table,  and  dinner  was  decently 
served  : soup,  boiled  chicken  and  rice,  quails,  vegetables, 
jelly : price  one  rouble  (sixty-four  cents),  wines  and  fruit 
extra.  The  natives  at  table  were  well  mannered,  with  just 
such  exceptions  as  you  meet  with  in  all  countries  ; one 
man  left  in  disgust  because  there  was  too  much  confusion, 
and  another  refused  to  pay  for  his  dinner  until  after  he  had 
eaten  it.  But  the  order,  the  dinner,  the  price  of  it,  and  the 
time  to  enjoy  the  meal,  were  all  more  agreeable  to  travel- 
lers than  they  would  have  been  on  most  of  the  routes  in 
our  own  beloved  and  well-regulated  country. 


366 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


At  Tver,  on  the  Volga,  we  halted  for  a few  moments 
only.  A little  girl,  four  or  five  years  old,  barefoot  and 
poorly  clad,  came  before  the  car  window  begging.  She 
bowed  to  us  as  if  before  a picture  of  the  Virgin,  crossed 
herself,  touched  her  forehead,  bent  her  head  low,  the  hair 
falling  over  her  face,  and  then,  raising  her  head  quickly, 
threw  the  hair  back,  and  so  amused  the  people.  We  threw 
her  money,  which  she  caught  in  her  lap,  crossed  herself, 
blessed  us,  and  asked  for  more.  Three  girls  came  up  and 
joined  her,  going  through  the  same  motions,  and  got  some 
coppers  ; and  now  a big  boy  made  his  appearance  and  put 
in  his  claims  which  proved  unsuccessful.  Then  he  turned 
upon  the  little  girl,  knocked  her  about  for  a minute,  robbed 
her  of  her  alms  and  fled.  Boys  are  boys  all  the  world 
over.  I wish  the  cars  would  wait  long  enough  for  me  to 
catch  the  little  rascal,  and  recover  the  money  for  the  girl. 

This  is  a city  of  nearly  30,000  inhabitants  ; its  splendid 
domes  and  beautiful  Greek  temples,  as  seen  in  passing, 
speak  of  a city  of  unusual  culture. 

Night  came,  according  to  the  watch,  but  no  darkness. 
Nine,  ten,  twelve,  no  signs  of  night,  except  that  sunshine 
was  gone.  We  wished  to  go  to  sleep.  But  here  an  unex- 
pected difficulty  arose.  The  two  ladies  declared  it  to  be 
impossible  for  them  to  sleep  in  the  cars,  and  therefore  they 
did  not  wish  the  seats  disturbed.  We  proposed  to  the  con- 
ductor to  arrange  ours  into  berths,  and  let  the  others  re- 
main in  static  quo  ante  bellum.  He  said  they  must  be 
worked  together  : all  or  none.  In  vain  we  argued  the  case 
with  these  implacable  women  ; and,  when  we  found  that  our 
appeals  to  their  pity  and  their  sense  of  justice  were  alike 
without  avail,  we  gave  it  up.  Each  of  us  four  settled  into 
a corner,  and  the  two  ladies  soon  gave  certain  infallible 
signs  that  they  were  sound  asleep,  and  so  they  continued 
until  long  after  the  break  of  day.  The  truth  was,  and  the 
conductor  understood  it,  but  we  did  not,  there  was  an 


FROM  MOSCOW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG.  3 67 

extra  charge  for  making  up  the  berths,  and  the  ladies  saved 
the  money  by  sleeping  perpendicularly. 

At  midnight  it  was  as  light  as  noon  often  is  with  us.  I 
could  write  at  any  hour,  and  these  lines  you  are  now  read- 
ing are  written  at  half-past  two  o’clock  in  the  morning. 
At  three,  the  east  began  to  glare  with  the  rising  splendor 
of  another  day.  The  heavy  clouds  that  skirt  the  horizon 
are  robes  of  fire.  Gorgeously  the  colors  of  the  rainbow 
are  painted  one  by  one  on  these  shifting  scenes,  — orange, 
red,  purple,  violet,  I could  count  them  all.  How  mean, 
tame,  pale,  all  earthly  pageants  seem  : the  domes,  the  min- 
arets, the  golden-jewelled  orbs  and  crowns  of  Czars,  com- 
pared with  this  wasted  wealth  of  glory  that  the  King  of 
kings  scatters  from  his  full  hand  with  the  rising  of  each 
day’s  sun.  I had  never  seen  the  sun  rise  in  a latitude  so 
far  north.  Its  splendors  charmed  me  out  of  all  my  hard 
feelings  towards  these  sleeping  Russian  dames,  who  de- 
prived me  of  a night’s  repose  and  gave  me  such  a magnifi- 
cent morning. 

Sitting  up  all  night  with  a couple  of  Russian  ladies 
might,  or  might  not,  suggest  the  idea  of  telling  you  some- 
thing of  the  marriage  customs  of  this  strange  country. 
A French  writer,  whose  name  I forget,  has  said  “the  Rus- 
sians are  a nation  of  polite  savages,”  a remark  that  is  not 
very  apt,  but  it  helps  us  toward  a proper  understanding  of 
the  social  condition  of  the  people.  The  rich  are  very  rich  ; 
the  poor  are  very  poor.  The  nobles  are  courtly,  polite,  and 
as  refined  in  manners  as  those  of  the  same  social  class  in 
Germany ; but  the  serfs,  or  those  who  belonged  to  the 
nobles  with  the  soil,  before  the  emancipation,  are  rude,  and 
not  half  civilized.  The  two  classes,  or  rather  the  extremes 
of  the  two  classes,  would  justify  the  description  of  the 
Frenchman,  who,  like  many  writers  of  his  country,  would 
not  be  specially  tied  by  the  truth,  if  he  wished  to  point  an 
epigram. 


368 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


It  was  no  uncommon  thing  in  those  days  of  serfdom  for 
the  proprietor  to  order  this  matter  of  marriage  among  his 
people,  telling  the  young  men  to  get  a wife  when  he  thought 
it  time,  and  providing  them,  if  the  young  men  were  slow  in 
making  their  choice.  And  in  the  peasant  class  the  mar- 
riage was  liable  to  all  the  caprices  and  irregularities  to  be 
expected  in  a state  of  things  where  the  will  of  the  master 
was  scarcely  restrained  by  law  or  custom,  so  that  he  had 
the  social  happiness  of  his  people  very  much  in  his  own 
hands.  In  such  a country,  and  under  such  circumstances, 
it  would  not  be  strange  if  some  social  evil  was  suffered. 

Almost  as  soon  as  a girl  is  born,  in  the  better  ranks  of 
society,  her  parents  begin  to  prepare  the  dowry  she  must 
have  when  she  goes  to  her  husband.  For  this  is  indis- 
pensable in  the  eyes  of  any  Russian  young  gentleman  who 
proposes  to  be  married.  She  must  furnish  every  thing  for 
an  outfit  in  life,  even  to  a dozen  new  shirts  for  her  coming 
husband. 

I have  just  heard  of  a lady  of  rank  and  wealth  who  had 
prepared  a costly  dowry  of  silks,  linen,  jewels,  plate,  & c., 
for  her  beloved  daughter,  who  died  as  she  came  to  be  twenty 
years  old.  The  mother  resolved  to  endow  six  girls  with 
these  riches,  and  actually  advertised  for  them.  A host  of 
applicants  came,  and  she  selected  six.  None  of  them  had 
lovers.  But  now  they  had  a respectable  dowry  secured, 
each  girl  was  speedily  engaged,  and  with  the  husband  took 
the  dowry,  and  paid  the  rich  lady  by  promising  to  pray  for 
the  repose  of  her  daughter’s  soul. 

In  no  country  is  this  arrangement  of  terms  carried  on 
with  more  caution  and  completeness  than  in  Russia.  The 
young  man  goes  to  the  house  of  his  proposed  bride,  and 
counts  over  the  dresses,  and  examines  the  furniture,  and 
sees  to  the  whole  with  his  own  eyes,  before  he  commits 
himself  to  the  irrevocable  bargain.  In  high  life  such  things 
are  conducted  with  more  apparent  delicacy,  but  the  facts 


FROM  MOSCOW  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG. 


369 


are  ascertained  with  accuracy,  the  business  being  in  the 
hands  of  a broker  or  a notary.  The  trousseau  is  exposed 
in  public  before  the  wedding  day.  And  this  publicity  has 
long  been  as  unblushing  as  the  customs  that  are  now 
becoming  fashionable  in  New  York.  The  publication  in 
the  newspapers  of  intended  marriages  ; of  descriptions  of 
bridal  dresses  and  presents  ; of  the  names  and  toilettes  of 
guests  at  fashionable  parties  ; the  value  of  jewels  worn, 
&c.,  now  common  and  approved  in  the  highest  circles  of 
American  society,  is  the  same  thing  w-ith  the  exposure  to 
the  public  gaze  of  a bride’s  dowry  in  Russia. 

• At  Whitsunday  there  is  a curious  custom,  which  is  grad- 
ually giving  way  with  the  advance  of  civilization.  The 
young  people  of  a neighborhood  come  together,  and  the 
girls  stand  in  a row,  like  so  many  statues,  draped  indeed, 
and  not  only  draped,  but  dressed  in  their  best,  and  painted 
too  ; for  the  young  ladies,  and  the  older  ones  also,  of  this 
country  use  cosmetics  freely,  and  a box  of  lady’s  paint  is  a 
very  common  present  for  a young  man  to  make  to  the  girl 
he  likes.  Behind  the  row  of  girls  are  their  mothers ; the 
young  men  having  made  known  their  choice,  the  terms  are 
settled  between  the  parents  of  the  parties. 

The  ladies  in  Russia  are  very  anxious  to  marry,  because 
they  have  no  liberty  before  marriage.  They  are  kept  con- 
stantly under  the  maternal  eye  until  they  are  given  up  to 
the  husband,  and  then  they  take  their  own  course,  which 
is  a round  of  gayety  and  dissipation,  only  regulated  by  their 
means  of  indulgence.  The  Greek  Church,  like  the  Roman, 
permits  no  divorce,  but  the  Emperor,  like  the  Pope,  can 
grant  special  dispensations. 

The  marriage  ceremonies  vary,  as  in  all  countries,  accord- 
ing to  the  rank  and  wealth  of  the  parties.  A procession  is 
sometimes  met  in  the  streets  ; and  the  Emperor’s  carriage 
would,  at  any  time,  turn  out  and  give  the  right  of  way  to 
a bridal  party. 


24 


370 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


It  pleases  me  always,  in  a strange  country,  to  find  that 
social  enjoyments  are  so  equally  distributed  over  the  earth, 
varying  in  kind  and  degree,  indeed,  according  to  the  religion 
and  civilization  of  the  people,  but  still  all  of  them  having 
their  own  ways  and  means  of  making  themselves  happy. 


FINLAND. 


371 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


FINLAND. 


A T nine  in  the  morning  we  were  to  be  on  board  the 
^ steamer  Wyborg,  Captain  Nystrom,  to  go  from  St. 
Petersburg  to  Finland,  and  thence  to  Sweden.  When  we 
reached  the  wharf,  so  great  was  the  crowd  of  passengers 
and  the  crush  of  luggage  and  the  pressure  of  freight,  that 
it  seemed  doubtful  if  we  should  be  able  to  get  on  board. 
It  was  summer  time,  very  hot,  and  the  people  who  had  not 
yet  escaped  from  the  city  heat,  and  were  able  to,  were  rush- 
ing to  their  rural  residences  on  the  sea-coast.  They  are  as 
much  in  the  habit  of  this,  as  our  rich  people  at  home  are 
of  flying  in  midsummer  to  the  hills  or  the  sea-shore. 

Americans  are  abroad.  Four  or  five  families  from  the 
city  of  New  York  met  on  the  deck  of  this  steamer,  all  of 
whom  were  making  this  northern  tour,  and  none  of  whom 
were  known  to  each  other  as  away  from  home.  As  the 
boat  was  to  be  our  hotel  for  several  days,  this  sudden  acces- 
sion of  neighbors  was  very  agreeable,  and  made  the  pros- 
pect of  the  excursion  more  pleasant.  And  gradually  this 
circle  widened,  till  it  embraced  Russians  and  Finns  and 
Swedes  and  English,  with  whom  our  own  tongue  was  more 
easily  a means  of  communication  than  it  was  in  Italy  or 
Spain. 

We  are  steaming  out  of  one  of  the  four  mouths  of  the 
Neva,  as  it  widens  into  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  and  for  several 
miles  the  intricate  channel  is  staked  out  with  care.  Cron- 
stadt  is  the  famous  port  of  St.  Petersburg,  one  of  the 


372 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


strongest  fortifications  in  the  world,  and  we  had  expected, 
to  see  a frowning  precipice,  a long  and  lofty  range  of  rocks, 
defying  attack,  a Gibraltar  in  the  north  of  Europe.  There 
is  no  rock  at  all.  The  fortifications  are  low,  and  all  the 
more  impregnable  for  that ; but  we  were  taken  down  by 
their  appearance,  the  situation  being  so  widely  different 
from  our  anticipations.  Napier  came  here  with  the  British 
fleet,  at  the  opening  of  the  war  that  was  afterwards  called 
the  Crimean , for  the  very  good  reason  that  when  the  Ad- 
miral hurled  the  whole  power  of  the  navy  of  England  against 
Cronstadt  in  vain,  the  war  was  prosecuted  to  its  close  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Russian  empire,  the  Crimea. 

The  approach  to  Cronstadt  is  difficult,  and  the  channel 
easily  defended  by  the  immense  fortifications  which  succes- 
sive emperors  have  constructed,  well  knowing  that  this  .is 
the  northern  gate  of  the  empire.  The  dry  docks  are  on  a 
gigantic  scale,  to  meet  the  demands  of  a first-class  naval 
power,  which  Russia  is  not,  and  will  never  be  till  she  moves 
her  seat  of  government  and  field  of  operations  to  the  Bos- 
phorus. Forests  of  masts,  denser  forests  of  masts  than  we 
had  seen  since  leaving  New  York,  stood  along  the  docks  of 
Cronstadt.  A steamer  crowded  with  passengers,  from  stem 
to  stern,  passed  us  as  we  were  lying  here ; she  was  bound  to 
Revel,  and  all  the  Russian  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Finland. 
The  people  are  apparently  as  given  to  travel  as  the  Ameri- 
cans. 

By  this  time  we  had  begun  to  get  accustomed  to  the 
people  around  us.  The  Russian  children  had  fur  caps  on 
and  the  ladies  wore  woollen  cloaks,  though  the  weather 
was  so  hot  as  to  make  the  shade  of  an  awning  indispensa- 
ble. Smoking  was  strictly  forbidden,  but  the  captain  and 
all  who  chose,  smoked  in  the  face  of  the  signs  that  were 
posted  up  to  prohibit  the  practice.  The  Gulf  of  Finland, 
on  which  we  are  now,  is  smooth  as  a summer  lake  ; the 
day  is  lovely,  skies  bright,  the  breeze  delicious,  the  air 


FINLAND. 


373 


bracing ; if  we  have  associated  chills  and  fogs  and  ice  and 
bitter  cold  with  Finland,  we  must  come  in  winter  to  find 
them,  for  the  Hudson  River  in  summer  was  never  more 
quiet,  nor  its  banks  more  brilliant  in  the  noontide,  than 
this  region  to-day.  The  day  has  been  one  to  be  remem- 
bered, among  pleasant  memories  of  travel,  and  toward  sun- 
set we  run  into  the  harbor  of  Wyborg.  The  ancient  city 
stands  on  an  arm  of  the  gulf  that  sets  up  six  or  eight  miles, 
the  lumber  station  of  Tronsund  being  at  the  mouth.  Near 
this  are  saw-mills  that  cut  up  160,000  logs  in  a year,  and 
ships  from  all  parts  of  Europe  come  here  for  lumber ; one 
vessel,  rejoicing  in  the  name  of  Pius  IX.,  was  lying  at  an- 
chor waiting  her  turn  to  get  northern  pine  to  carry  home 
to  Italy.  The  channel  was  obstructed  in  1854  to  prevent 
the  British  under  Napier  from  getting  up  to  Wyborg,  and 
now  the  trouble  is  just  as  great  for  friends  as  foes,  only 
that  the  Russians  have  put  the  poles  into  the  water,  each 
pole  being  made  to  hold  a flag  above  the  waves,  to  desig- 
nate the  tortuous  channel.  Two  large  islands  lie  in  front 
of  the  town,  and  make  a safe,  snug  harbor.  An  arm  of  the 
sea  stretches  away  between  the  lines  of  fortification  and 
the  old  town,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  water  a mighty  rock 
rises  majestically,  crowned  with  a tower  of  other  times, 
partly  in  ruins  now,  for  the  storms  of  heaven  and  the  storms 
of  earth  and  sea  have  often  beaten  upon  it  in  peace  and 
war.  Its  roof  is  gone,  but  it  is  a prison  still,  and  its  hol- 
low sides  have  secrets  never  to  be  revealed  till  the  final 
day.  The  sun  is  in  the  west,  as  we  approach  the  city,  and 
its  domed  churches  blaze  in  its  setting  glory.  The  old 
castle,  now  in  ruins,  has  a history  of  just  six  hundred  years, 
a history  of  courage,  endurance,  and  heroism,  while  it  re- 
sisted the  might  of  Russia,  until  in  1710  it  yielded  to  Peter 
the  Great.  Then  followed,  with  an  interval  of  a few  years 
only,  the  submission  of  Finland  to  the  yoke  of  Russia, 
which  it  still  wears. 


374 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Finland  is  a Protestant  country,  Lutheran  being  the 
established  religion  of  the  country.  The  Greek  and  Roman 
churches  are  regarded  with  equal  dislike.  All  native  Fin- 
landers are  obliged  to  have  their  children  baptized  in  the 
Lutheran  Church.  They  must  also  be  able  to  read  before 
they  can  be  married,  or  take  any  part  in  the  government  of 
the  country. 

The  public  officers  are  appointed  by  the  Russian  govern- 
ment, but  the  Finns  pay  no  tribute  to  Russia,  except  the 
support  of  the  civil  list  for  their  own  officers.  The  Grand 
Duke  of  Finland  is  the  Emperor  of  Russia  himself.  Under 
him  are  four  orders,  the  nobles,  clergy,  citizens,  and  peas- 
ants. Each  of  these  orders  is  represented  in  the  legislature 
of  Finland,  meeting  annually  to  regulate  the  domestic  affairs 
of  the  state,  subject  to  the  veto  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia. 

For  the  last  ten  years  every  harvest  has  failed,  being  cut 
off  by  untimely  frosts.  Great  famines'  have  therefore  pre- 
vailed, with  diseases  incident  to  want,  and  many  have  per- 
ished. Men  on  salaries  have  voluntarily  paid  fifteen  per 
cent  of  their  incomes  to  feed  the  poor,  and  they  will  do  so 
for  a few  years  more ; but  if  the  same  destitution  should 
continue  five  years,  the  country  will  be  depopulated.  So 
severe  has  been  the  distress,  that  the  inhabitants  have 
eaten  the  bark  of  trees,  and  as  little  or  no  nourishment  can 
be  found  in  bark,  they  are  rapidly  dying  out.  The  Russian 
government  is  preparing  to  transport  all  who  are  willing  to 
go,  to  some  portions  of  Russia  where  there  is  land  in 
abundance,  and  a population  is  wanted. 

The  Emperor  is  popular  among  the  Finns,  who  have 
ceased  to  regard  him  as  a conqueror,  and  now  look  up  to 
him  as  a protector  and  friend.  He  is  bound  by  an  oath  to 
preserve  the  integrity  of  their  constitution,  and  they  trust 
him.  The  Finns  are  not  drafted  into  the  Russian  army. 
They  enlist  in  it  freely,  under  the  temptation  of  bounty 
money.  But  they  have  a strong  national  feeling  of  their 


FINLAND. 


375 


own,  refusing  to  be  called  Russian,  or  to  admit  that  they 
are  part  of  that  empire. 

Wages  are  very  low.  A skilled  mechanic  gets  only 
about  a rouble  (eighty  cents)  a day,  and  a farm  hand  is 
glad  to  earn  ten  cents  a day.  But  with  this  terrible  state 
of  things,  poor  pay  and  no  food,  emigration  is  not  allowed, 
either  by  Finnish  or  Russian  law,  and  there  is  no  prospect 
before  the  peasantry  but  to  perish  on  the  ground. 

The  country  is  more  thoroughly  sunken  in  the  water 
than  any  other  inhabited  part  of  the  globe.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  the  inhabitants  might  have  been  called  Finlanders, 
because  they  ought  to  be  amphibious.  But  the  name  comes 
from  the  ancient  fen>  or  fennen,  which  is  also  an  English 
word  for  bog  or  morass.  The  Laplanders  were  the  original 
settlers  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Baltic,  but  they  have 
retired  to  more  northern  regions  still.  The  interior  of  the 
country  is  almost  filled  with  lakes,  irregularly  shaped,  and 
making  travelling  by  land  exceedingly  tedious,  as  one  must 
wind  his  way  far  around  these  arms  and  branches.  There 
is  one  lake,  Saima,  two  hundred  miles  wide,  in  which  there 
are  a thousand  and  more  of  islands.  The  largest  is  called 
Amasara,  or  mother-island  ; on  this  island  there  are  seventy- 
seven  lakes,  and  in  these  lakes  fifty  islands.  ■ This  great 
lake  is  connected  with  Lake  Ladoga,  in  Russia,  and,  by  a 
canal  here  at  Wyborg,  with  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  Now  it 
will  pay  you  to  take  a map,  and,  with  this  description,  see 
what  a stretch  of  water  communication  extends  through 
Finland  into  Russia.  If  you  were  to  go  by  this  canal  to 
Lake  Saima,  and  so  to  Lake  Ladoga,  you  would  not  see 
much  of  the  people,  but  you  would  find  it  easier  and 
pleasanter  getting  through  than  to  take  the  only  other 
conveyance,  that  of  the  drosky.  This  is  a low  sulky,  in 
which  only  one  person  can  sit,  though  a driver,  if  you  must 
have  one,  manages  to  get  a seat  by  the  horse’s  heels.  The 
horses  are  small,  nervous,  and  wiry,  and  have  learned  from 


3 76 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


colthood  to  go  on  the  jump  all  the  time,  up  hill  and  down 
hill,  and  on  a level.  Ladies  who  come  travelling  here  must 
and  do  adapt  themselves  to  this  unsocial  mode  of  travel, 
and  ride  all  day  alone,  or  with  the  company  of  a ragged 
boy,  who  speaks  no  word  the  traveller  understands,  and 
spends  his  time  in  walloping  the  beast,  to  quicken  his 
rapid  canter.  Between  the  lonely  post-houses  it  is  rare  to 
meet  a human  being,  or  to  pass  a habitation  ; but  the 
solemn  pine-trees  make  the  gloom  more  gloomy,  and  huge 
boulder  stones  rise,  like  towers  of  giant  builders  waiting 
for  their  masters  to  return.  Some  of  them  have  been 
utilized  by  the  progress  of  art  and  science.  It  was  one 
of  these  great  boulders  that  was  cut  into  the  splendid 
Alexander  column  we  saw  in  St.  Petersburg,  the  largest 
monolith  in  the  world.  The  enginery  required  to  move  it 
from  its  place,  where,  perhaps,  the  deluge  left  it,  and  trans- 
port it  to  the  heart  of  a distant  city,  fairly  rivals  the  skill 
of  the  Egyptian  pyramid  builders,  or  the  men  who  set 
Pompey’s  Pillar  on  its  base. 

A crowd  of  five  hundred  people  or  more  were  on  the 
dock  at  Wyborg  waiting  for  the  steamer,  when  we  touched 
the  shores  of  Finland.  At  least  a hundred  droskies  and 
other  conveyances,  with  little  horses  attached,  swelled  the 
concourse.  Many  of  the  persons  were  expecting  to  re- 
ceive their  friends  who  were  coming  by  the  steamer,  and 
as  there  are  but  two  arrivals  from  St.  Petersburg  in  a week, 
every  steamer  brings  a goodly  number.  Many  were  well 
dressed,  “fashionable”  ladies  and  gentlemen,  who  wel- 
comed their  friends  with  cordial  greetings,  the  kissing 
being  quite  as  affectionate  and  common  as  in  Russia.  But 
more  of  the  people  on  shore  were  the  poor,  the  toilers, 
looking  for  a little  something  to  do  ; and  the  drivers  of 
the  droskies  were  as  importunate  and  impudent  as  the 
donkey  boys  in  Alexandria  or  the  hackmen  in- New  York, 
and  none  in  the  wide  world  are  worse. 


FINLAND. 


377 


A gentleman  of  Wyborg,  with  whom  we  had  formed  a 
speaking  and  very  agreeable  acquaintance  on  board,  pro- 
posed an  excursion  through  the  town  into  the  country,  as 
the  steamer  was  to  lie  at  the  wharf  till  after  midnight.  It 
was  now  only  nine  o’clock  at  night , and  there  was  plenty 
of  time  before  sunset  to  take  a ride  of  a few  miles  into  the 
interior ! A long  line  of  droskies  was  therefore  engaged, 
and  in  single  file  we  set  off,  at  a break-neck  pace,  but 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  horses  and  the  country. 

The  town  of  Wyborg  has  about  six  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, — Swedes,  Russians,  Germans,  and  Finlanders.  The 
churches  are  numerous,  the  Lutherans  being  more  in  num- 
ber than  all  the  rest,  which  are  chiefly  Greek  for  the 
Russians.  The  town  is  ancient  and  uninviting  in  its 
appearance,  with  nothing  to  indicate  enterprise  or  progress. 

Through  it  we  were  carried,  all  flying,  by  the  tower  or 
castle  or  prison  of  the  year  1 300,  and  out  into  the  country 
where  villas  were  here  and  there  planted,  and  some  little 
culture  was  displayed.  Our  destination  was  the  summer  resi- 
dence of  Baron  Nicolai,  a wealthy  Russian,  who  has  made 
himself  the  possessor  of  a peninsula,  and  here  has  laid  out 
a park  and  grounds  with  the  novel  and  beautiful  idea  of 
making  a miniature  Finland, — a little  representation, 
with  the  aid  of  nature  and  art,  of  the  lakes  and  islands,  the 
rocks  and  hills,  of  the  very  country  of  which  this  princely 
domain  is  an  insignificant  part.  At  the  gate  we  were  very 
properly  required  to  pay  an  entrance  fee,  which  goes  to  the 
relief  of  the  poor  of  the  neighborhood,  and  the  visitor  is 
not  forbidden  to  enlarge  his  fee  to  any  amount  more  agree- 
able to  himself.  The  villa  we  soon  pass  has  nothing  im- 
posing in  its  aspect,  but  in  the  midst  of  a park  of  ancient 
shade  trees  has  an  air  of  quiet  contentment  that  justifies 
the  name  its  first  owner  gave  it,  “ Mon  Repos  ” — My  Rest. 
Passing  it  we  pursue  the  shaded  walks,  by  the  borders  of 
little  lakes  and  along  running  streams,  till  we  come  to  a 


378 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


wooded  islet,  reached  by  a foot-bridge  and  crowned  with  a 
monumental  tomb,  and  this  is  the  family  sepulchre.  Fit- 
tingly did  the  master  of  all  these  grounds  call  the  spot  to 
which  he  had  retired  “ My  Rest  ; ” for  he  who  spent  such 
vast  sums  of  money  to  convert  these  rocks  and  wilds  into 
a garden  of  Eden  now  sleeps  in  the  tomb,  and  his  son 
reigns  in  his  stead,  rarely,  however,  coming  here,  and  only 
for  a few  days  in  summer. 

Such  had  been  our  associations  with  Finland,  that  we 
were  more  than  surprised  to  find  so  much  culture  and  taste, 
elegance  indeed,  within  an  hour  of  landing  on  its  coasts. 
And  as  we  emerged  from  the  woods  in  our  walks  we  came 
suddenly  upon  the  shore  of  the  bay;  and  the  glorious  sun 
was  sinking  to  his  “ repose  ” at  ten  o’clock  ! It  seemed  very 
* late  for  the  sun  to  be  going  to  bed  ; he  keeps  earlier  hours 
in  our  country,  and  it  is  odd  to  be  out  sight-seeing  at  this 
time  of  day ! 

Yet  in  the  midst  of  this  Finnish  paradise  there  was  a 
pest  as  bad  as  the  serpent  in  Eden.  We  were  nearly 
devoured  by  mosquitoes  ! They  beset  us  behind  and  before 
and  bit  us  horribly.  With  handkerchiefs  over  our  faces, 
and  with  bushes  to  drive  them  away,  we  were  pursued  as  if 
they  were  starving  like  the  other  inhabitants,  and  they  sent 
in  their  bills  with  no  more  mercy  than  landlords  in  Spain. 
I would  not  take  the  place,  with  all  its  splendor  and  natural 
attractions,  for  a gift,  if  it  were  encumbered  with  the  con- 
dition of  being  obliged  to  live  in  it  through  the  summer 
season.  But  some  people  get  used  to  these  little  plagues. 
Nature  is  fond  of  setting  off  one  thing  against  another, 
and  it  may  be  that  the  inhabitants  of  mosquito  regions 
have  some  compensating  advantages  that  make  these  evils 
a luxury  rather  than  otherwise.  They  do  prevail  in  the 
cold  climates  of  the  north,  as  well  as  in  malarious  south- 
erly regions,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  they 
are  not  very  troublesome  to  the  settled  inhabitants,  however 


FINLAND. 


379 


savage  they  are  upon  strangers.  For  I have  observed  in 
the  United  States,  and  within  a very  few  miles  of  New 
York,  if  a man  purchases  a home,  a “Mon  Repos”  like 
this  we  are  now  visiting,  and  says  to  himself,  “ this  is  my 
rest,”  he  is  able  to  say,  in  answer  to  the  inquiries  of  friends 
as  to  mosquitoes,  “ We  are  not  troubled  with  them  at  all.” 
And  if  the  fever  and  ague  has  been  there  through  all 
generations,  he  is  free  to  declare,  “ There  is  nothing  of  it 
around  us.”  From  which  we  infer  that  mosquitoes  and 
other  plagues  like  them,  and  the  chills,  respect  the  mano- 
rial rights  of  the  owners  of  the  soil,  and  only  draw  the 
blood  and  shake  the  bones  of  strangers,  who  in  all  ages  and 
countries  have  been  considered  as  lawful  prey. 

We  stood  on  the  shore  and  saw  the  sun  go  down  in 
clouds  of  glory,  and  then  returned,  in  the  same  style  in 
which  we  came,  to  our  ship.  A great  amount  of  freight 
was  to  be  left  and  more  taken  in,  and  this  kept  the  vessel 
in  such  confusion  that  sleep  was  quite  out  of  the  question. 
At  two  o’clock  I was  sitting  at  my  cabin  window  writing 
without  a candle,  and  a carriage  came  to  the  wharf  with  a 
gentleman  and  lady  to  come  on  board.  No  one  would  have 
thought  of  its  being  night  to  see  the  arrival.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  adjust  one’s  mind  to  the  fact  that  we  had  come  into 
such  a latitude,  that  night  could  be  told  from  day  only  by 
looking  at  your  watch. 

The  ride  to  “ Mon  Repos  ” brought  our  steamer  passen- 
gers into  pleasant  relations.  We  had  come  to  feel  less  like 
strangers,  and  more  like  acquaintances,  not  to  say  friends. 
I came  on  deck  early  this  morning,  and  had  a cup  of  coffee 
at  the  same  little  table  with  a lady  whose  grace  and  beauty 
had  rendered  her  somewhat  a point  of  attraction  yesterday. 
Two  little  children  were  playing  at  her  feet,  and  a nurse  for 
each  was  in  waiting.  I soon  learned  from  her,  as  we  fell 
into  conversation  naturally,  that  she  spoke  all  the  languages 
of  northern  Europe,  as  Russ,  German,  Swedish,  Finnish, 


380 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


and  the  French  besides,  but  not  a word  of  English,  and 
this  she  regretted  all  the  more,  she  said,  since  so  many 
Americans  are  now  travelling  through  her  country.  Her 
native  tongue  was  Finnish,  and  her  education  would  have 
been  finished  had  she  known  mine. 

Rarely  in  any  country  is  a lady  to  be  found  with  a wider 
culture  and  more  accomplished  manners  than  this  Finland 
wife  and  mother  has.  She  reads  the  English  language,  but 
has  never  attempted  to  speak  it ; and  the  standard  authors 
of  our  country  and  of  England  were  her  study  and  delight, 
as  the  best  French  and  Italian  writers  are  familiar  to 
educated  persons  among  us. 

The  company  by  degrees  came  on  deck,  and  all  national- 
ities were  soon  merged  into  one  family.  Two  or  three 
from  the  capital  are  talking  in  English  to  an  English  party 
on  their  way  to  the  interior  of  Finland,  going  a-fishing. 
Norway  is  farmed  out  to  English  gentlemen,  so  that  it  is 
hard  to  find  a good  stream  for  salmon  and  trout  that  is  not 
the  private  property  of  some  one  in  England,  who  keeps  it 
for  his  own  enjoyment.  Finland  is  now  persecuted  by  these 
piscatorial  parties.  One  of  the  English  gentlemen  was  loud 
in  his  praises  of  the  fish  of  Finland,  and  his  own  wonder- 
ful skill  in  “ killin’  of  them.”  The  streams  are  very  swift, 
and  the  true  sportsman  uses  only  the  fly  hook.  This  gent 
said,  “ I kill  them  loyally , with  fly  only ; sometimes,  when 
they  will  not  rise  to  it,  I take  a bait,  but  in  that  case  I 
throw  them  back  into  the  water,  even  if  they  weigh  twenty 
or  thirty  pounds.  It’s  the  pleasure  of  killin’  of  them  that  I 
enjoy;  it’s  not  for  the  fish,  it’s  the  killin’  of  them.”  The 
“parties”  expect  to  enjoy  two  or  three  months  in  Finland 
fishing  and  shooting.  It  was  an  entertainment  to  note  the 
pleasurable  anticipations  of  these  pleasant  people,  on  their 
way  to  enjoy  what  to  me  and  many  must  be  about  as  great 
a bore  and  punishment  as  could  be  endured  in  the  name  of 
sport. 


FINLAND. 


381 


The  Gulf  of  Finland,  as  we  are  running  along  the  coast, 
is  full  of  islands,  to  the  very  edge  of  which  our  vessel  often 
comes,  — romantic,  rocky,  hilly  islands,  to  the  right  of  us 
and  left  of  us,  without  the  sight  of  an  inhabitant.  The 
weather  is  glorious,  cool,  bracing,  breezy,  a cloudless  sky 
and  a brilliant  sun  covering  the  smooth  water  and  these 
green  isles  with  a blaze  of  beauty  as  we  plough  our  way 
northward.  How  widely  does  all  this  differ  from  what  we 
had  expected  when  meditating  a cruise  along  the  coast  of 
Finland  ! 

We  come  to  Fredericksham  by  a tortuous  channel,  among 
islands  and  rocks  strongly  fortified  ; but,  verily,  it  seems 
scarcely  worth  while  to  make  special  provision  to  prevent 
people  from  coming  up  into  these  regions.  The  domes  and 
spires  of  the  city  tell  us  that  God  is  worshipped  there ; and, 
as  the  morning  sun  tips  the  temples  with  fire,  we  send  up 
our  matin  prayers  with  the  people  of  the  town,  whose  God 
is  also  ours. 

We  passed  the  ruined  fortress  of  Sclava , of  some  impor- 
tance once,  but  now  only  a monument  of  the  times  when 
Russia  and  Sweden  were  fighting  for  the  poor  bone  of  Fin- 
land, from  which  all  the  meat,  if  it  ever  had  any,  was  picked 
before  the  war  was  over. 

The  war  is  nominally  over,  and  Russia  is  the  master 
now  ; but  the  people  keep  up  the  old  spirit  of  patriotic  love 
for  the  mother  land  and  tongue.  The  Russ  is  the  language 
taught  in  the  schools.  If  a scholar  speaks  in  his  own 
language  the  teacher  flogs  him,  according  to  law ; and  if 
the  scholar  speaks  in  the  Russian  language,  the  other  boys 
flog  him  when  the  school  is  out.  So  that  flogging  would 
seem  to  be  the  fate  of  speaking  at  all. 

We  chatted  freely  with  the  ladies  respecting  the  social 
customs  of  Finland.  There  is  much  less  freedom  of  social 
intercourse  among  unmarried  young  men  and  women,  in 
polite  circles,  than  in  England,  or  even  France.  Parties  of 


383 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


young  men  by  themselves  are  common,  and  of  young  ladies 
oy  themselves ; balls  for  dancing  bring  them  together,  and 
their  parents  come  with  them,  but  one  young  lady  said 
archly,  “ They  are  not  always  near  enough  to  hear  what  we 
say.”  These  fashions  are  common  to  Russia  and  Finland, 
and  other  countries  in  the  north.  I had  seen  it  written,  in 
an  English  book  of  travels,  that  at  dinner  parties  the  ladies 
sit  by  themselves,  apart  from  the  gentlemen,  but  have  met 
with  nothing  of  the  kind,  and  am  assured  it  is  a mistake. 
Yet  it  is  true  that  the  ladies  generally  enter  the  dining-room 
by  themselves,  in  advance  of  the  gentlemen,  and  then  sit 
promiscuously.  There  is  more  freedom  of  manner  and  less 
stiffness  and  formality  than  in  the  same  social  rank  in 
England  or  Germany. 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  practice  of  bringing  up  chil- 
dren in  this  exclusion  from  social  intercourse  tends  to 
improve  their  morals  or  manners.  On  the  contrary,  it 
makes  matters  worse.  In  well-ordered  households,  where 
the  virtues  are  inculcated  in  the  first  lessons  that  youthful 
minds  receive,  and  where  parental  example,  more  powerful 
than  lessons  or  discipline,  is  such  as  children  may  safely 
follow,  it  will  be  found  that  as  boys  and  girls  are  apt  to  be 
mixed  up  in  the  family,  so  they  should  be  in  social  life. 


FINLAND. 


383 


Helsingfors. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

FINLAND  ( Continued. ). 

A T the  close  of  a delightful  day’s  sail  along  the  coast  of 
^ Finland,  we  reached  the  harbor  of  Helsingfors.  The 
distant  sight  of  the  city  is  imposing,  and  one’s  admiration 
is  doubtless  heightened  by  the  surprise  he  feels  when  first 
finding  such  splendid  structures  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

The  F'ortress  of  Sweaborg,  commanding  the  approach  to 
the  city,  is  rather  a series  of  fortifications  than  a single  fort. 
The  works  of  nature  have  been  turned  to  as  good  an  ac- 
count at  this  point  as  in  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  Seven 
islands  were  placed  by  the  Great  Maker  in  just  the  right 
position  for  the  purpose  of  being  fortified  to  protect  the 
city,  and  they  have  been  so  strongly  fortified  as  to  defy  the 
force  of  any  foe.  The  combined  fleets  of  France  and 
England  tried  their  guns  upon  it  in  1855,  and  retired  from 
the  trial,  quite  content  to  get  away. 


3 §4 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Peace  is  reigning  now.  The  fortress  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Russians  in  1808,  after  the  garrison  was  reduced  to  the 
last  extremity  by  famine,  and  it  was  the  last  stronghold 
that  Sweden  held  in  Finland.  When  this  was  gone,  all 
was  gone,  and  the  Finns  changed  masters.  But  their  sub- 
jection is  rather  nominal  than  real,  as  we  shall  see  when 
we  enter  the  town.  On  the  shore  where  we  land  is  the 
“ Society  House,”  or,  as  we  should  call  it,  “ The  Company’s 
Hotel;”  and  we  find  similar  houses  in  many  parts  of 
northern  Europe.  They  are  hotels  built  by  the  company 
running  the  steamers,  or  by  associations,  and  they  com- 
bine many  of  the  features  of  the  first-class  hotels  at 
watering-places  in  England  or  America.  Near  it  is  the 
palace  in  which  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  who  is  also  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Finland,  resides  when  he  makes  his  brief 
visit,  now  and  then,  to  this  remote  and  “ outlandish  ” part 
of  his  empire.  His  accommodations  here  are  very  narrow, 
but  just  as  comfortable  as  those  in  the  Winter  Palace  of  St. 
Petersburg,  holding  five  thousand  people. 

On  the  ship  we  had  formed  the  acquaintance  of  a gentle- 
man of  Helsingfors,  whose  pleasant  manners  and  intelligent 
conversation  had  greatly  interested  us  during  the  voyage. 
As  we  had  now  reached  his  home,  and  were  going  ashore, 
he  gave  us  a warm  invitation  to  his  house,  which,  of  course, 
we  declined,  and  then  he  insisted  upon  being  our  guide  to 
see  the  famous  old  town.  It  is  one  of  the  richest  in  his- 
torical interest  in  the  north. 

On  a grand  square  stand  the  chief  public  buildings,  and 
they  present  an  appearance  that  would  be  commanding  in 
Paris  or  London.  The  senate-house  stretches  across  one 
side  of  the  square,  the  Lutheran  church  adorns  another, 
the  university  fills  a third,  and  from  the  fourth  a broad 
avenue  opens,  half  a mile  long,  to  the  foot  of  a hill  crowned 
with  an  observatory. 

The  University  of  Finland  ! In  our  ignorance,  we  had 


FINLAND. 


3»5 


associated  Finlanders  with  the  Laps  and  the  Esquimaux,  and 
had  never  thought  of  letters  and  science  and  art  in  connec- 
tion with  this  race.  Among  the  pleasures  of  a visit  to  Finland 
we  had  not  reckoned  an  introduction  to  a venerable  univer- 
sity, endowed,  sustained,  and  flourishing  on  a par  with  those 
of  Germany.  In  fact,  very  few  of  the  German  universities 
have  accommodations  and  advantages  equal  to  this  at  Hel- 
singfors. It  would  be  considered  first-class  in  England  or 
France,  and  there  is  nothing  comparable  to  it  in  the  United 
States.  It  has  a magnificent  stone  edifice  of  architectural 
proportions  and  finish,  that  make  the  building  a perpetual 
lecture  on  the  beautiful  and  sublime  in  art ; and  within  is 
the  most  complete  system  of  rooms  for  every  department 
of  knowledge  here  pursued, — for  museums,  laboratories, 
lectures,  recitations.  The  professors  were  in  session  in 
the  great  audience-room  as  we  entered  it ; the  place  was 
adorned  with  a full-length  portrait  of  the  Emperor  Alexan- 
der I.,  who  is  styled,  in  the  Latin  inscription,  “the  father 
of  his  country  and  the  university.”  The  prophecy  is 
added  that  art  will  preserve  his  features,  and  his  fame 
will  fill  the  whole  earth.  The  professors  seemed  an  ear- 
nest set  of  men,  mostly  young,  all  fine-looking  and  well 
dressed.  I took  them  to  be  happy  and  successful  in  their 
calling,  and  I wished  much  that  I understood  their  lan- 
guage, so  as  to  enter  into  the  sympathies  of  a set  of 
scholars  giving  their  lives  to  the  pursuits  of  science  in 
Finland. 

The  university  has  five  separate  departments,  law,  medi- 
cine, theology,  &c.,  with  thirty-one  professors , and  it  is 
older  than  any  university  in  Russia.  It  was  founded  in 
1630  by  the  Empress  Christina,  eleven  years  before  the  art 
of  printing  was  introduced  into  Finland.  Its  charter  was 
signed  by  Axel  Oxenstiern,  a famous  name  in  his  country’s 
annals.  The  library  contains  200,000  volumes,  in  all  lan- 
guages and  in  every  realm  of  human  learning.  It  is  admi- 


25 


386 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


rably  arranged  in  a series  of  beautiful  rooms,  in  niches 
and  galleries,  having  an  air  of  repose  and  seclusion  inviting 
to  quiet  study,  such  as  Ptolemy  anticipated  when  he  put 
over  the  Alexandrian  doors  the  fitting  inscription,  “ The 
food  of  the  soul.” 

And  the  halls,  floors,  walls,  and  the  whole  interior,  are 
kept  with  a scrupulous  neatness  unknown  in  any  institution 
of  learning  claiming  the  dignity  of  a college,  or  university, 
that  my  feet  ever  entered,  in  the  most  enlightened,  civilized, 
and  beloved  land  in  the  world.  Yet  there  is  little  in  the 
way  of  literature  in  the  Finnish  language,  which  is  spoken 
only  by  the  peasants,  the  Swedish  being  the  language  of 
law  and  social  life  among  the  other  classes.  Some  rich 
treasures  of  popular  poetry  have  been  discovered  floating 
about  in  the  memories  of  the  people,  and  these  have  been 
gathered  as  curious  specimens  of  an  unlettered,  but  im- 
aginative race.  Kalewala,  an  epic  poem,  was  first  printed 
in  1835,  and  an  earnest  effort  has  been  made  to  rouse 
young  Finland  to  seek  laurels  in  the  fields  of  song.  Two 
of  the  professors  deliver  lectures  in  Finnish.  Schiller  and 
Shakespeare  have  been  done  into  the  native  tongue  of  the 
Finns.  And  the  imperial  decree  has  gone  forth  that  after 
1883  the  Finnish  language  shall  be  the  official  tongue  of 
the  country.  If  Russia  would  be  as  kind  and  considerate 
of  the  feelings  of  Poland,  she  would  conciliate  her  southern 
subjects  as  readily  as  she  has  her  northern. 

We  were  now  led  to  the  Senate-house.  The  Diet,  or 

t 

Congress  of  Finland,  consists  of  four  chambers,  the  . nobles, 
the  clergy,  the  citizens,  the  peasants.  Each  of  them  has  a 
hall  of  its  own  for  meeting ; that  of  the  nobles  has  a large 
chamber,  with  two  hundred  or  more  handsome  chairs.  On 
the  walls  is  placed  the  coat-of-arms  of  each  noble  family  in 
Finland,  with  the  name  inscribed  upon  it,  an  ostentatious 
display  indeed,  but  very  interesting.  We  came  upon  one 
familiar  name ; it  was  that  of  our  friend  who  was  our 


FINLAND. 


387 


guide.  His  brother  is  the  head  of  the  family,  and,  in  his 
absence,  the  next  in  order,  our  friend,  takes  his  seat  in  the 
senate. 

We  rode  out  of  town  a mile  to  the  beautiful  Botanical 
Garden,  one  of  the  resorts  of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
the  city.  Here  they  come  toward  evening,  and  enjoy 
themselves  in  social  intercourse,  and  take  a cup  of  tea  in 
the  grounds.  The  park  is  laid  out  tastefully,  — beautiful 
shaded  avenues,  green  meadows,  banks  of  flowers,  and  the 
walks  lead  up  to  rocky  heights  overlooking  the  bay  and 
sea ; and  these  heights  have  been  fortified  to  resist  the 
coming  foe.  The  guns,  which  were  brought  up  here  in  the 
Crimean  war  time,  are  now  lying  about  useless ; but  they 
are  doing  as  much  service  when  dismounted  and  rusting  on 
the  ground  as  they  did  in  the  fight,  for  they  were  not  big 
enough  to  reach  the  ships  of  the  enemy,  whose  bombs  went 
easily  over  these  heights  into  the  town. 

Below,  and  in  front  of  a beautiful  “ House  of  Refresh- 
ments,” tables  are  scattered  about  in  great  numbers,  and  at 
one  of  these  our  company  sat,  to  enjoy  the  hospitality  of 
Herr  Edelfelt,  our  new-made  friend,  who  insisted  upon 
entertaining  us  at  tea  in  the  Finland  fashion  out  of  doors, 
as  we  had  declined  his  invitation  to  his  own  house.  This 
custom  of  taking  dinner,  tea,  or  supper  at  a garden  or 
restaurant  is  prevalent  among  respectable  people  in  many 
parts  of  continental  Europe,  and,  by  the  accession  of 
Europeans  into  the  United  States,  is  gradually  becoming 
an  accepted  custom  there. 

Near  to  this  garden  is  a health  establishment  of  great 
repute.  All  the^  medicinal  springs  of  Europe  and  America, 
and  of  Asia  and  Africa  too,  I presume,  are  reproduced  by 
skilful  doctoring,  and  whosoever  drinks  may  be  cured  of 
whatsoever  disease  he  has,  provided  the  disease  is  curable 
by  any  of  the  waters  of  the  world.  To  this  many-mouthed 
fountain  of  life  thousands  resort  in  the  morning  and  drink 


388 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  waters.  As  they  are  required  by  the  rules  of  health  to 
take  a brisk  walk  up  the  heights  and  down  again,  before 
and  after  taking  the  refreshing  draught,  there  can  be  no 
manner  of  doubt  that  strangers  resorting  hither  must  derive 
great  benefit.  The  air  is  salubrious,  the  scenery  magnificent, 
the  climate  bracing,  the  regimen  judicious,  and  the  morning 
exercises  quite  as  edifying  for  invalids  as  those  prescribed 
by  Dr.  Jay,  of  Bath.  It  is  quite  probable  that  this  artificial 
fountain  in  Finland  has  cured  as  many  patients  as  Baden 
or  Kissingen,  and  yet  it  has  not  been  celebrated  half  so 
widely.  Besides  drinking,  bathing  is  plentifully  enjoyed ; 
and  his  case  must  be  hard  that  is  not  softened  somewhat 
by  the  internal  and  external  application  of  pure  cold  water, 
with  plenty  of  exercise  in  the  open  air,  on  the  heights  of 
Helsingfors,  in  Finland.  I drank  none  of  the  water,  inhaled 
the  air,  took  the  constitutional  walk,  and  was  perfectly  well 
when  I came  away.  As  I stayed  there  only  about  an  hour, 
the  inference  is  fair  that  if  I had  used  the  waters  and  re- 
mained a week  or  two,  I should  have  been  competent  to 
give  the  cure  a first-rate  certificate. 

We  are  now  at  the  sixtieth  degree  of  north  latitude, 
eighteen  degrees  further  north  than  New  York  city,  or 
more  than  a thousand  miles  nearer  the  North  Pole.  We 
have  returned  to  the  ship,  and  night  is  nominally  about  us, 
but  no  darkness  settles  on  the  world.  We  can  read  and 
write  all  night  without  a candle,  if  we  are  so  disposed.  And 
there  is  no  sleep  to  be  had,  for  all  the  livelong  night  the 
natives  are  pouring  on  board  with  freight ; passengers  are 
coming ; they  fill  up  the  cabin  and  spend  the  parting  hours 
with  friends,  eating,  drinking,  laughing,  and  talking  obstrep- 
erously ; and  the  leaving-taking,  with  the  inevitable  indis- 
criminate kissing,  keeps  the  place  in  a constant  uproar,  that 
knows  no  alleviation  until  at  four  in  the  morning  we  put  to 
sea,  and  find  rest  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep. 

We  are  now  going  further  north,  by  narrow  passages 


FINLAND. 


among  islands  simply  masses  of  rocks,  utterly  barren, 
washed  by  the  waves  till  they  are  perfectly  smooth  ; and 
not  a tree,  nor  shrub,  nor  blade  of  grass  is  in  sight  upon 
them.  The  channel  is  very  tortuous,  marked  by  poles,  and 
sometimes  it  is  so  near  the  rocks  that  we  seem  to  be  graz- 
ing their  precipitous  sides.  The  weather  is  cool,  clear,  and 
delightful ; though  midsummer,  the  overcoat  or  shawl  is 
agreeable ; and  the  exhilaration  of  the  day  and  the  passage 
among  the  islands  became  general  among  the  passengers, 
who  throng  the  hurricane-deck  to  enjoy  the  scenery.  Some 
of  the  islands  that  we  pass  in  the  course  of  the  day  have  some 
available  land  and  a few  inhabitants,  whose  chief  pursuit 
is  fishing.  And  these  scattered  islands,  and  the  adjoining 
shores  on  the  mainland,  furnish  sailors  that  enter  the  ser- 
vice of  other  countries,  and  are  among  the  most  hardy, 
healthful,  and  valuable  seamen  to  be  found.  The  subjects 
of  the  Russian  government,  either  here  or  in  any  other 
part  of  the  empire,  are  not  allowed  to  expatriate  themselves 
at  their  own  pleasure,  as  thousands  would  gladly  do,  if  they 
could  make  their  way  into  some  more  hospitable  portion  of 
the  globe.  But  they  can  often  find  opportunities  to  get  on 
board  merchant  vessels  as  seamen,  and  they  are  not  slow  to 
avail  themselves  of  such  opportunities.  The  soil  does  not 
give  them  food.  They  have  no  market  for  the  fish  that  the 
sea  would  furnish.  They  are  therefore  very  poor,  and  in 
bad  seasons  famine  overtakes  them.  The  people  that  have 
money,  the  well-to-do  people, — and  there  are  many  such  in 
Finland,  — have  plenty  of  dried  salmon,  and  fresh  too,  beef 
and  potatoes,  which,  with  bread  and  butter,  make  good 
enough  living  for  anybody ; and  to  these  staples  they  add 
some  of  the  luxuries  that  money  will  command  anywhere. 
But  the  poor  are  very  poor,  and  they  constitute  the  masses 
of  the  people,-—  the  great  multitude  whose  condition  we  go 
to  look  into  when  we  visit  foreign  lands. 

Abo  is  pronounced  Obo.  It  is  the  name  of  the  northern- 


390 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


most  town  of  any  note  in  Finland,  and  a famous  old  town 
it  is.  We  were  told  that  the  hotel  is  the  farthest  north  of 
any  hotel  in  the  world.  Away  up  above  us  on  the  borders 
of  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  — and  Abo  is  at  the  dividing  line 
between  the  Baltic  and  Bothnia,  — is  Bjonneborg,  and  Chris- 
tireestad,  and  Wasa,  and  Uleaborg,  and  Tornea  on  the  very 
head  of  the  gulf,  where  there  is  something  in  the  way  of  a 
house  of  refreshment  for  travellers,  I have  not  a doubt. 
Perhaps  this  is  the  last  that  aspires  to  the  distinction  of  a 
hotel  on  the  European  plan,  and  we  will  enjoy  the  comfort- 
able satisfaction  of  thinking  that,  as  we  are  going  no  farther 
north,  there  is  no  place  of  rest  and  entertainment  to  re- 
ceive us  if  we  should. 

A large  crowd  of  people  was  standing  at  the  wharf  to 
see  the  steamer,  to  greet  friends  expected,  and  to  hear  the 
news.  They  were  quiet,  orderly,  and  well-looking.  There 
was  no  rush  to  the  gangway,  no  pulling  and  hauling  to  get 
on,  or  get  baggage  and  passengers,  though  there  were  hun- 
dreds waiting  for  any  kind  of  a job  by  which  a little  money 
could  be  made.  The  hotel  — the  Society  House,  as  it  is 
called  — is  close  by  the  landing,  and  affords  all  the  sub- 
stantial comforts  a traveller  requires. 

The  old  castle,  historic,  romantic,  and  famous,  is  in  full 
view  ; a massive  stone  tower  on  which  the  storms  of  cen- 
turies, in  war  and  peace,  have  spent  their  fury.  The  streets 
of  the  town  are  wide  and  the  houses  low,  and  one  looks  in 
vain  for  the  appearances  of  a city  that  was  founded  by  Eric 
the  Saint,  who  reigned  from  1157  to  1160,  the  time  when 
the  Sun  of  Christianity  first  softened  the  rigor  of  this 
northern  clime.  The  castle  was  founded  then,  and  for  long 
centuries  held  in  check  the  Russians  who  sought  the  con- 
quest of  Finland. 

The  cathedral  has  been  an  object  of  intense  interest  for 
ages  past,  as  the  first  monument  of  Christianity  in  this 
region,  and  the  burial-place  of  the  most  illustrious  per- 


FINLAND. 


39r 


sons  in  the  history  of  the  country.  One  of  the  tombs 
bears  the  name  of  Catharine  Monsdotter,  who  was  taken 
from  humble  life  and  married  to  the  King  of  Sweden,  and 
by  one  of  those  strange  reverses,  now  ceasing  to  be  strange, 
she  returned  to  Finland  and  died  in  obscurity,  and  her  hus- 
band perished  in  prison.  Her  remains  repose  among  queens 
and  princes,  but  she  finds  no  compensation  in  this  for  the 
loss  of  a diadem.  Two  white  marble  statues,  life-size,  stand 
on  a sarcophagus  in  one  of  the  chapels,  over  the  dust  of  a 
man  and  wife  who  were  celebrated  for  their  wealth  and 
noble  birth,  having  the  blood  of  kings  ; and  the  statue  of 
the  wife  is  even  now  decked  (not  adorned)  with  necklace 
and  bracelets, — gaudy  jewelry  indeed  to  garnish  a whited 
sepulchre. 

In  1827  an  awful  conflagration  swept  over  this  city  of 
only  20,000  inhabitants,  and  consumed  two-thirds  of  all  the 
houses  in  it ; the  inside  of  the  cathedral  was  destroyed,  the 
university  and  its  great  library,  and  the  chief  public  edifices 
fell  a prey  to  the  flames,  and  the  town  will  never  recover 
from  the  disaster.  Its  university  was  removed  to  Helsing- 
fors, where  we  have  already  visited  it.  Its  trade  is  now  of 
no  account.  The  interior  of  the  country  furnishes  little  or 
nothing  for  export,  and  the  glory  of  Abo  — for  it  once  had 
some  glory  — is  departed  for  ever. 

The  Gulf  of  Bothnia  extends  six  degrees  to  the  north  of 
Abo,  but  there  is  no  trade  or  travel  that  requires  a steamer, 
and  ours  is  now  to  strike  across  the  gulf,  through  the  Aland 
Isles  to  Stockholm.  We  are  bound  there  to  visit  Sweden 
and  Norway.  Those  who  have  not  this  trip  in  view,  and 
wish  to  see  more  of  the  country,  can  remain  at  Abo  and  go 
back  to  Wyborg  and  St.  Petersburg  by  land.  There  is 
semi-occasionally  a coach  for  travellers  in  Finland,  but  the 
more  excellent  way  is  by  private  carriage,  or  carriole , the 
carriage  of  the  country ; a narrow  low  sulky,  with  room 
enough  for  one,  hardly  for  two,  besides  the  driver.  It  has 


392 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


no  top  ; but  there  is  another  trap  called  a kibitka , a long, 
narrow  wagon  with  no  springs,  and  a leathern  hood  which 
you  can  draw  over  you  in  case  of  rain,  and  with  a bed  in 
the  bottom  of  it,  on  which,  if  not  too  long,  you  can  stretch 
yourself  out,  while  the  driver  attends  to  the  little  animal 
ahead,  that  tears  up  and  down  hill,  through  the  sand,  at  a 
fearful  pace,  regardless  of  an  occasional  break-down  and 
turn-over.  This  is  a Russian  innovation,  and  in  the  Paris 
Exhibition  there  were  several  very  handsome  specimens  of 
the  vehicle,  which  is  far  more  pleasant  to  read  about  than 
to  ride  in.  The  boiidkara  is  still  another  wretched  contriv- 
ance, about  the  same  thing  as  our  buck-board ; with  this 
essential,  not  to  say  fatal  difference,  that  ours  has  four 
wheels,  and  the  board  extending  from  the  forward  to  the 
hind  axle  makes  an  agreeable  spring ; an  experienced  driver 
sitting  before,  and  the  passenger  behind  him,  holding  on 
with  both  hands,  can  ride  astride  and  not  suffer  much. 
The  bondkara  of  Finland  has  but  two  wheels,  and  the  bench, 
without  a back,  is  fastened  to  the  axle-tree,  the  driver  before, 
the  traveller  behind  ; the  equilibrium  must  be  preserved 
with  care  or  the  load  goes  to  the  ground,  and  when  the 
wild  horse  tears  down  hill  as  if  running  away,  the  passen- 
ger must  hold  on  tight  with  both  hands  on  the  sides  of  the 
seat,  and  the  other  — but  he  has  no  other,  unless  he’s  a 
little  behindhand,  in  which  case  he  would  do  well  to  use  it 
as  best  he  can.  The  average  speed  of  ten  miles  an  hour 
is  made,  and  that  is  pretty  well  in  such  a country  as  this. 

It  is  very  strange  that  the  intercourse  of  nations  does 
not  lead  to  the  more  rapid  adoption  of  improvements  which 
have  been  found  to  be  useful.  Nations  , are  slow  to  learn 
of  one  another.  We  in  America  have  railroad  arrange- 
ments that  Europeans  know,  but  will  not  introduce.  They 
have  many  things  in  their  system  that  we  ought  to  apply, 
but  will  not.  People  of  different  countries  have  an  idea 
that  what  they  do  not  know  is  not  worth  knowing,  and  so 


FINLAND. 


393 


they  prefer  a poor  way  of  their  own  to  a better  way  of 
others.  But  we  have  nothing  to  learn  from  Finland  in  the 
line  of  travel.  Patient  endurance  is  something,  and  the 
people  of  Finland  deserve  credit  for  the  spirit  with  which 
they  have  borne  themselves  through  the  long  period  of 
their  dreary  history.  They  are  not  numerous,  the  entire 
population  amounting  to  but  1,800,000  souls  : 40,000  are 
members  of  the  Russian  or  Greek  Church ; the  rest  are 
Protestants,  mostly  Lutherans.  It  embraces  only  6,844 
geographical  miles  of  surface,  and  no  other  country  is  so 
much  covered  with  water.  Yet  it  has  a splendid  university, 
with  thirty-one  professors  ; it  abounds  in  churches,  it  has  a 
peaceful,  moral,  and  intelligent  population,  and  some  of  the 
gentlemen  and  ladies  whom  it  was  my  pleasant  fortune  to 
meet  were  among  the  most  agreeable  and  cultivated  per- 
sons I have  encountered  abroad. 


394 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

SWEDEN. 

HE  day  was  bright  as  we  left  the  harbor  of  Abo,  and 
struck  out  into  the  sea  among  the  Aland  Isles.  The 
wind  was  strong,  but  not  enough  to  disturb  the  weaker 
brethren  who  are  easy  victims  of  the  sea.  Breakfast  was 
served  at  ten  and  a half  o’clock,  and  already  the  Swedish 
customs  at  meals  began  to  show  themselves.  Before  sitting 
down  to  the  table,  or  immediately  on  taking  a seat,  as  you 
prefer,  little  glasses  of  gin  schnapps  are  passed  around,  and 
each  one  is  expected  to  take  a nip  as  an  appetizer.  The 
same  at  dinner.  Ditto  at  supper.  Also  after  meals  a punch, 
not  like  the  American  drink  of  that  name,  but  something 
that  looks  thick,  oily,  amber-colored,  and  inducing  a smack- 
ing of  the  lips,  which,  without  uttering  a word,  say,  “ It  ees 
goot.”  Breakfast,  after  schnapps,  comprised  radishes  sent 
around  as  the  first  course,  with  Bologna  sausages,  tongue 
and  dried  beef,  salt  fish,  bread  and  butter,  beefsteak  and 
potatoes,  ham  and  eggs,  with  coffee  if  you  insisted  on  having 
it.  There  is  evidently  no  need  of  starving  when  you  get  all 
that  for  breakfast,  and  about  four  hours  afterwards  sit  down 
to  dinner  and  take  soup  (if  you  can ),  with  fish  following, 
and  beef,  poultry,  game,  salad,  cucumbers,  puddings,  fruit, 
nuts,  &c.,  and  wine  at  your  order.  Eating  is  one  of  the 
principal  institutions  in  these  northern  climates.  There  is 
but  one  other  institution  more  highly  valued,  and  that  is 
drinking.  They  keep  at  one  or  the  other  or  both  pretty 
steadily.  Besides  the  four  regular  meals,  lunch  and  supper, 


SWEDEN. 


395 


in  addition  to  those  I have  named,  they  are  fond  of  inter- 
mediate refreshments,  and  a drink  never  comes  amiss.  The 
amount  of  strong  liquor  they  can  carry  without  apparent 
inconvenience  is  something  wonderful.  And  it  is  more  re- 
markable as  we  get  along  into  the  north  toward  the  Pole. 
They  say  it  is  the  bracing  climate  which  induces  such  an 
expenditure  of  vital  force,  that  the  supply  must  be  replen- 
ished with  nourishing  food  and  stimulating  drink. 

We  were  crossing  the  Baltic.  It  was  warm  off  the  coast 
of  Finland.  It  was  cold  in  the  middle  of  the  sea,  so  cold  at 
noon  that  we  had  to  wrap  up  with  shawls  and  blankets,  and 
then  be  uncomfortable  on  deck,  and  were  finally  driven 
below.  But  when  at  four  o’clock  we  ran  in  among  the 
islands  off  the  Swedish  coast,  we  found  it  warm  again.  So 
there  are  belts  about  the  globe  itself. 

We  approach  Stockholm  through  a thousand  isles  and 
more,  so  near  each  other  that  we  seem  to  be  winding  our 
way  along  a narrow  river.  Now  and  then  a tower,  solitary 
and  sublime,  starts  up  from  some  grand  cliff.  An  ancient 
castle  stands  among  the  rocky  headlands.  Suddenly  the 
city  rises,  like  Venus  or  Venice,  from  the  bosom  of  the  sea, 
beautiful  in  the  sunlight  that  gilds  her  palaces  and  domes. 
The  entrance  to  Stockholm  is  magnificent.  I have  not  been 
more  impressed  by  the  approach  to  any  other  city  but 
Constantinople. 

As  our  steamer  touched  the  wharf  the  captain’s  wife  and 
children  and  a few  friends  came  on  board  to  welcome  him 
home.  He  had  been  absent  nearly  two  weeks  ! Had  crossed 
the  Baltic  and  sailed  or  steamed  along  down  the  coast  from 
Abo  to  Petersburg  and  back  again,  and  his  friends  were 
here  to  receive  him  as  if  he  had  been  around  the  world  ! 
And  it  was  good  to  see  the  greeting.  His  young  and 
beautiful  wife  the  captain  was  proud  to  present  to  his  new- 
made  friends  on  the  ship,  while  two  charming  children 
clung  to  his  legs  as  if  they  would  not  let  him  go  again. 


395 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Porters  from  the  hotels  were  ready  to  take  the  luggage, 
and  the  passengers,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  went  ashore  and 
walked  up  the  streets  at  their  leisure.  There  was  a quiet- 
ness about  this  quite  refreshing.  No  bustle,  no  pulling  and 
hauling,  no  loud  talking  and  swearing ; the  landing  in 


Stockholm  Steamers. 


Sweden  was  a pleasant  contrast  to  that  of  more  highly  cul- 
tured countries,  our  own  for  instance. 

Hotel  Rydburg  received  us,  — large  enough  to  entertain 
two  or  three  hundred  guests,  — and  a curiously  arranged 
house  it  was,  the  geography  of  which  I have  not  learned, 
after  its  careful  study  of  several  days.  I know  that  to  get 
to  my,  room  I have  to  go  up  two  flights  of  stairs,  then  out 
upon  a balcony,  then  down  one  flight  of  stairs,  then  ring 


SWEDEN. 


397 


a door-bell  and  get  admission  into  a room  that  is  not  mine, 
then  across  this  apartment  into  my  own,  which  is  a spa- 
cious and  handsomely  furnished  room,  — sofa,  lounge, 
ottomans,  piano,  secretary,  bookcase  containing  a set  of 
Voltaire’s  works  in  seventy  French  volumes,  pictures, 
engravings,  stuffed  birds,  and  other  specimens  in  natural 
history,  all  suggesting  the  idea  that  the  mysterious  passages 
through  which  I have  been  conducted  have  led  me  out  of 
the  hotel  proper  into  some  private  house  attached,  and  that 
some  Swedenborgian  philosopher  has  rented  his  premises 
to  the  hotel.  He  certainly  has  things  comfortable  if  such 
be  the  fact,  and  I will  use  them  as  not  abusing  them  while 
I stay. 

Scandinavia  includes  the  peninsula  of  which  Sweden  is 
but  a part,  Norway  and  Denmark  making  up  the  rest  of  it ; 
and  its  history,  is  it  not  all  written  by  Pliny  and  Tacitus  in 
pagan  antiquity  times  ? and  a thousand  years  after  they 
wrote  of  it,  did  not  Saxo  Grammaticus  the  Dane,  and 
Snorrow  Sturleson,  of  Sunny  Iceland,  bring  down  the 
story  to  their  times  ? Not  far  from  the  same  time  when 
the  Saxons  invaded  England,  the  Gothic  tribes  under  Odin 
migrated  to  Sweden,  and  founded  an  empire  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Lake  Malar,  with  Sigtuna  for  its  capital.  Odin 
was  a god,  in  his  own  esteem  and  that  of  his  followers,  and 
he  combined  in  his  sublime  and  mysterious  person  all  the 
offices  of  priest  and  king  and  teacher ; he  was  the  law-giver 
and  judge.  With  lofty  aspirations  for  power,  he  conquered 
by  his  will,  his  arms,  and  his  address,  and  finally  he  be- 
came the  object  of  religious  worship  through  the  north  of 
Europe.  The  Sagas,  or  sacred  books  of  the  ancient  Swedes, 
give  us  the  fullest  insight  into  the  views  of  the  Scandi- 
navians in  religion,  as  to  the  creation  of  the  world,  the 
government  of  the  universe,  and  the  destiny  of  man.  It 
was  in  the  ninth  century  that  Christianity  was  openly 
preached  in  Sweden  for  the  first  time,  and  the  dynasty  of 


398 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


pagan  kings  did  not  terminate  till  the  beginning  of  the 
eleventh  century,  when  Eric  V.,  in  1001,  being  converted, 
destroyed  the  great  temple  at  Upsala,  where,  to  this  day, 
are  the  graves  of  Thor  and  Woden  and  Frey  tag,  on  which 
this  Eric,  the  first  Christian  king,  was  slain  by  his  pagan 
people  in  their  fury,  excited  by  the  destruction  of  their 
temple. 

The  history  of  Sweden  since  Christianity  became  its  re- 
ligion has  been  glorious  among  the  nations,  although  she 
has  been  a small  and  inconsiderable  power.  Under  Gus- 
tavus  Wasa,  in  1529,  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  was 
abolished  and  the  Lutheran  established,  and  just  one 
hundred  years  afterwards,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  the  grand- 
son of  Wasa,  was  called  upon  by  the  Protestant  powers  of 
Europe  to  put  himself  at  their  head  to  resist  the  Roman 
Catholic  movement  to  obtain  universal  dominion  in  Chris- 
tendom. He  was  triumphant  in  his  masterly  generalship, 
and  fell  covered  with  glory  at  the  battle  of  Lutzen.  His 
name  is  now  inscribed  with  that  of  Washington,  among 
the  noblest  characters  the  human  race  has  ever  produced. 

At  the  present  time  the  King  of  Sweden  must  be  a 
Lutheran,  the  government  is  a hereditary  constitutional 
monarchy,  restricted  in  its  descent  to  the  male  line.  The 
congress  is  composed  of  four  separate  houses,  — nobles, 
clergy,  burgesses,  and  peasants  ; and  the  unanimous  con- 
sent of  these  four  houses,  and  the  approbation  of  the  king, 
are  required  to  make  any  alteration  in  the  constitution, 
which  is  therefore  not  likely  to  be  very  suddenly  amended. 
In  other  measures  a majority  in  three  houses  may  pass  a 
bill,  but  if  two  houses  vote  aye , and  two  vote  no,  then  a 
committee  of  eighteen,  from  each  house,  takes  the  subject 
in  hand,  and  their  decision,  approved  by  the  king,  is  final. 
This  arrangement  works  well  for  conservatism,  but  is  not 
favorable  to  progress.  It  is  easy  to  retard  legislation,  and 
difficult  to  press  things  through. 


SWEDEN. 


399 


Having  a letter  to  Dr.  Stolberg,  of  Stockholm,  I was 
directed  to  call  at  the  Caroline  Institute  to  learn  his  ad- 
dress. A walk  of  a mile  into  the  outskirts  of  the  city 
took  me  to  what  proved  to  be  a hospital,  with  ample 
grounds  and  excellent  arrangements.  A woman  answered 
my  ring  at  the  door,  and  led  me  to  the  study  of  one  of 
the  professors,  and  left  me  there  to  await  his  coming.  It 
was  so  simple  in  its  furniture,  and  yet  so  well  fitted  up  for 
business,  I could  plainly  see  it  was  for  work,  not  rest,  that 
he  had  that  den  made.  And  when  he  came,  a thin,  bent, 
pale  student,  cap  on  his  head  and  pipe  in  his  mouth,  and 
working  - wrapper  on,  I felt  at  once  that  he  lived  in  his 
books  and  his  thoughts.  He  would  have  me  go  to  his 
chemical  laboratory,  and  when  he  found  me  interested  in 
the  experiments  he  was  making,  he  became  enthusiastic  in 
his  descriptions,  and  would  have  cheerfully  given  up  the 
day  to  the  “ pursuit  of  science  ” with  a stranger  from  a 
distant  land.  Yet  I had  but  one  question  to  ask  him,  and 
he  was  able  to  give  me  the  address  of  the  man  I was 
seeking. 

Here  was  a hospital,  or  rather  an  asylum  for  invalids, 
into  which,  on  easy  conditions,  a poor  body  could  get  ad- 
mission, and  be  kindly  cared  for  at  the  expense  of  the 
state.  Many  of  these  institutions  are  scattered  over  the 
world,  the  fruit  of  Christianity,  and  when  I find  them  in 
places  where  I least  expect,  they  tell  me  that  love  works 
the  same  results  everywhere.  I soon  found  Dr.  Stolberg, 
in  a modest  dwelling,  in  a garden  retired  from  the  street, 
and  he  received  me  with  great  courtesy  and  warmth. 

In  Sweden  a physician  makes  no  charge  whatever  for 
medical  attendance  ; and,  what  is  more  remarkable  still, 
very  many  of  the  people  who  can  afford  to  pay  for  the 
services  of  a doctor  are  willing  to  avail  themselves  of  such 
aid  without  paying  any  thing  for  it.  One  physician  told 
me  that  of  ninety-six  cases  that  he  had  treated  within  a 


400 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


certain  ‘time,  only  six  paid  him  at  all ! It  is  customary  for 
those  who  do  pay  to  pay  by  the  year,  and  fifty  rix  dollars, 
or  about  twelve  American  dollars,  would  be  a large  sum  for 
persons  in  good  circumstances  to  give  for  the  benefit  of  a 
physician’s  counsel  for  a whole  year.  There  is,  therefore, 
no  great  inducement,  in  the  way  of  profit,  to  go  into  the 
medical  profession.  Nor  is  it  an  introduction  to  society, 
the  physician  not  being  in  this  respect  materially  above 
the  apothecary  in  social  standing. 

The  clergy,  as  a profession,  are  not  materially  better  off 
than  the  physicians.  Their  pay  comes  from  the  state,  but 
their  salaries  are  very  small,  and,  with  only  here  and  there 
an  exception,  they  have  very  little  influence,  social  or  po- 
litical. They  are  not  men  of  learning,  and  perhaps  they 
are  as  influential  as  they  could  be  expected  to  be.  The 
established  religion  is  Lutheran,  with  one  archbishopric, 
eleven  bishoprics,  with  3,500  clergymen.  They  are  said  to 
be  “ highly  educated,”  but  I was  assured  that  there  is  a great 
lack  of  education  among  the  clergy,  and  the  very  small 
salaries  which  even  the  dignitaries  receive  would  confirm 
the  statement  that  the  church  does  not  retain  the  aid  of 
learned  and  able  men. 

The  press  is  free,  and  when  a man  is  called  to  account 
for  the  abuse  of  this  freedom,  the  case  goes  to  a jury, 
whose  action  is  final,  and  there  is  no  appeal  from  it. 

Only  one  in  a thousand  of  the  population  is  ignorant  of 
letters ; they  can  read,  and  nearly  all  can  write. 

A common  laborer  gets  about  twenty-seven  cents  of  our 
money  for  a day’s  work,  and  a mechanic  at  his  trade  earns 
a little  more.  The  cost  of  living  must  be  very  little,  where 
the  working  classes  can  support  themselves  and  families  on 
incomes  so  small  as  these ! 

Yet  they  do  live  comfortably,  and  if  it  were  not  for 
drinking  intoxicating  liquors,  they  would  be  well  off. 

They  are,  as  a people,  as  little  given  to  other  vices  as  in 


SWEDEN. 


401 


any  country  of  Europe,  perhaps  I might  say,  in  the  world. 
The  statistical  tables  show  that  many,  very  many,  children 
are  born  into  the  world  whose  parents  are  not  lawfully 
married,  and  it  is  therefore  set  down  to  the  discredit  of 
Sweden  and  Norway  that  they  are  very  lax  in  their  social 
morals.  There  is  this,  however,  to  be  said  on  this  delicate 
subject,  the  law  forbids  the  marriage  of  any  parties  who 
have  not  taken  the  Lord’s  Supper,  and  many  do  not  wish 
to  become  communicants  in  the  church,  who  are  also  quite 
willing  to  be  married.  But  the  church  will  not  sanction 
their  union,  and  they  live  together  in  the  marital  relation, 
true  to  each  other,  but  without  the  blessing  of  the  church. 
Their  children  are  returned  in  the  census  to  the  discredit  of 
the  morals  of  Sweden ! Here  is  an  interesting  point  for 
moralists  to  study.  The  practice  is  wrong,  and  so  is  the 
law  that  has  made  the  practice  so  common. 

The  mysterious  words,  Riddarholm  kyrkan,  provided 
always  your  education  has  not  extended  into  the  language 
of  Sweden,  are  used  to  define  a kyrkan  or  kirk,  the  Riders’ 
or  Horsemen’s  or  Knights’  Church  in  Stockholm,  decidedly 
the  most  peculiar  and  interesting  of  all  I have  seen  in  the 
north  of  Europe. 

Divine  service  is  celebrated  within  its  walls  but  once  a 
year.  It  is  not  a house  for  the  living  to  pray  in,  but  for  the 
dead  to  lie  in.  It  is  not  for  the  dead  of  common  clay,  but 
for  the  dust  of  kings  only,  — a royal  mausoleum.  It  is  a 
structure  of  nameless  architecture,  once  Gothic  doubtless, 
but  worked  over  until  small  trace  of  its  original  design 
appears.  A spire  once  almost  reached  the  clouds,  and  when 
the  lightnings  played  too  fiercely  on  it,  it  was  replaced  by 
one  of  cast  iron,  which  tapers  finely  to  a lofty  height,  and 
defies  the  thunders. 

It  is  a symbol,  the  whole  church  is,  of  a rude  age  and 
land.  The  doors  were  opened  at  noon  of  a bright  summer 
day,  and  yet  as  we  entered,  a sense  of  gloom,  of  ruin,  of 

26 


402  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

vast  antiquity,  and  the  utter  emptiness  of  this  poor  life  of 
ours,  came  over  me  like  a thick  cloud.  Every  stone  of 
uneven,  broken  pavement  was  a tomb,  and  the  inscriptions 
long  since  were  worn  away  by  the  feet  of  strangers.  In 
dumb  silence,  for  centuries  the  royal  remains  of  successive 
dynasties  have  been  resting  here,  and  their  names  are  for- 
gotten, rubbed  out,  and  unwritten  elsewhere.  The  flags, 
spears,  drums,  swords,  guns,  and  implements  of  war  unused 
in  modern  times,  are  hung  around  the  walls,  as  if  this  were 
an  arsenal  and  not  a sepulchre.  In  front  of  the  high  altar, 
with  recumbent  effigies  of  ancient  kings,  and  in  the  midst 
of  inscriptions  hard  to  read  and  some  still  harder  to  under- 
stand, was  one  epitaph  in  these  words : — 

Justitle  Splendor 
Patrice  Pater 
Vivas  in  Eternum 
O Magne  Beate. 

On  either  side  of  the  door,  and  on  elevated  pedestals,  are 
equestrian  statues,  cased,  both  horse  and  rider,  in  solid 
armor;  and  that  of  Charles  IX.  is  said  to  have  been  made 
by  Benvenuto  Cellini.  The  armor  is  more  interesting  from 
its  association  with  the  name  of  its  maker  than  the  king 
who  wore  it.  Such  is  fame. 

On  the  right  of  the  high  altar,  and  within  the  choir,  is 
the  tomb  which  every  Protestant  who  comes  to  the  north 
visits  as  a shrine,  — not  to  pray  for  the  repose  of  a soul,  but 
to  testify  his  reverence  for  the  name  of  Gustavus  Adolphus. 
The  trophies  of  his  victories  adorn  his  sarcophagus  of  green 
porphyry,  which  was  made  in  Italy  to  receive  his  remains. 
His  own  “ garments  rolled  in  blood,”  in  which  he  fell  while 
fighting  on  the  field  of  Lutzen,  November  16,  1632,  are 
preserved  remarkably  in  their  stains,  for  more  than  two 
centuries  ! His  epitaph  is  short  and  fitting : “ Moriens 
triumphavit,”  - — 


“Dying  he  triumphed.” 


SWEDEN. 


403 


The  cause  of  truth,  religious  liberty,  and  the  rights  of 
man,  all  denied  and  crushed  by  the  Papal  power,  — the 
cause  which  woke  the  soul  of  Luther  and  inspired  the 
Reformation  for  these  three  centuries,  — has  been  strug- 
gling on  toward  the  universal  empire  of  the  human  soul. 
That  was  the  cause  in  which  Gustavus  Adolphus  died 
covered  with  wounds  and  glory,  and  his  epitaph  says  that 
he  triumphed  when  he  died.  I think  he  did.  True,  the 
battle  goes  on  still,  and  many  a hard  field  is  to  be  fought 
over  yet,  before  He  whose  right  it  is  shall  reign  unques- 
tioned in  His  dominion  over  the  souls  of  the  race.  But  the 
grand  foe  of  the  Church  of  Christ  was  then  the  civil  power 
of  the  Papacy.  Rome  had  the  armies  of  all  papal  kings  at 
her  command,  and  they  moved  at  her  ghostly  will,  propa- 
gating her  religion,  like  that  of  the  Moslem,  by  the  sword. 
It  was  to  roll  back  this  tide,  more  terrible  than  the  waves 
of  the  Crusades,  that  Gustavus  Adolphus  was  called  to  lead 
the  armies  of  the  Protestant  powers,  and  the  result  was 
complete  success.  There  is  not  now  one  crowned  head 
on  earth  that  acknowledges  the  supremacy  of  the  popes. 
Austria  has  cast  off  its  allegiance,  and  it  was  Austria  that 
led  the  South  of  Europe  against  Gustavus  Adolphus.  Italy 
is  independent  of  Rome.  And  Spain,  the  birthplace  of  the 
Inquisition,  and  the  most  abject  to  the  Pope,  has  cast 
out  the  principle  of  intolerance,  and  proclaimed  the  rights 
of  worship.  What  Luther  did  for  the  truth  in  the 
pulpit,  Gustavus  Adolphus  did  for  the  same  cause  in  the 
field. 

We  went  down  the  stone  stairway,  worn  deeply  by  the 
tread  of  generations,  into  the  lower  regions,  where  lie  whole 
rows  of  dead  kings  turned  to  dust,  coffins  tucked  away  on 
shelves  and  in  niches,  reminding  me  of  the  Bible  words : 
“ All  the  kings  of  the  nations,  even  all  of  them,  lie  in  glory, 
every  one  in  his  own  house.”  What’s  the  glory,  though, 
of  such  a resting-place,  it  is  hard  to  say.  Their  dust  is  no 


404 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


better  than  that  of  other  men.  Their  names,  even  among 
kings,  have  ceased  to  be  distinguished  from  other  names. 
No  man  could  go  among  these  walks  of  tombs,  these 
shelved  kings,  and  pick  out  one  or  another,  and  say  who  is 
who.  And  if  he  could,  I do  not  see  that  it  would  be  any 
particular  satisfaction  to  the  quiet  gentleman  on  the  shelf. 
If  the  visitor  should  say,  “ Is  this  the  man  that  made  the 
earth  to  tremble,  that  did  shake  kingdoms  ? ” no  answer 
would  come  back  from  the  tomb. 

We  did  not  set  foot  within  the  gates  of  his  majesty,  the 
King  of  Sweden,  and  this  neglect  was  much  to  the  disgust 
of  some  of  our  Swedish  friends,  who  consider  the  royal 
residence  a marvel  of  architectural  grandeur  and  beauty. 
We  could  not  see  it,  even  when  they  pointed  to  its  magni- 
ficence with  the  same  exalted  opinion  of  its  splendor  that 
possessed  the  Jews  in  sight  of  their  temple.  The  Lion’s 
Staircase,  rising  from  the  water’s  edge  and  leading  to  the 
main  entrance,  adorned  with  two  bronze,  and  therefore 
quiet,  lions,  presents  a grand  front  to  the  palace,  and 
within  the  same  interminable  suites  of  apartments,  and  the 
same  gaudy  furniture,  and  the  same  sort  of  pictures  and 
statuary,  with  nothing  that  has  a title  to  any  distinction 
above  what  is  common  in  all  palaces. 

The  picture-gallery  has  some  five  hundred  paintings, 
some  by  Van  Dyck,  Paul  Veronese,  Domenichino,  and 
others  equally  well  known  to  fame,  and  the  sculpture 
gallery  boasts  a sleeping  Endymion,  and  a few  other  gems ; 
but  we  are  out  of  the  enchanted  zone,  and  must  not 
expect  to  be  charmed  with  the  brush  or  the  chisel  in 
Sweden.  We  shall  find  Thorvaldsen  when  we  come  to 
Denmark. 

But  the  royal  library  has  75,000  volumes,  and  if  it  had 
the  library  that  Queen  Christina  sent  to  the  Vatican  at 
Rome,  it  would  be  still  a greater  wonder,  and  then  would 
be  increased  if  the  ancient  collection  made  by  Charles  X., 


SWEDEN. 


405 


and  consumed  by  fire  in  1697,  had  been  preserved.  The 
Codex  Aureus , a Latin  manuscript  of  the  gospels,  dating  in 
the  sixth  or  seventh  century,  “ is  written  in  Gothic  char- 
acters of  gold,  on  folio  leaves  of  vellum,  alternately  white 
and  violet.” 

“ This  book  is  additionally  interesting,  from  its  contain- 
ing an  Anglo-Saxon  inscription,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
translation:  ‘In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I, 
Alfred  Aldorman  (Senior  or  Prince),  and  Werburg,  my 
wife,  got  up  this  book  from  a heathen  war-troop,  with  our 
pure  treasure,  which  was  then  of  pure  gold.  And  this  we 
got  for  the  love  of  God,  and  for  our  souls’  behoof,  and  for 
that  we  would  not  that  this  holy  book  should  longer  abide 
in  heathenesse  ; and  now  will  we  give  it  to  Christ’s  Church, 
God  to  praise,  and  glory,  and  worship,  in  thankful  remem- 
brance of  his  passion,  and  for  the  use  of  the  holy  brother- 
hood, who  in  Christ’s  Church  do  daily  speak  God’s  praise, 
and  that  they  may  every  month  read  for  Alfred,  and  for 
Werburg,  and  for  Alhdryd  (their  daughter),  their  souls  to 
eternal  health,  as  long  as  they  have  declared  before  God 
that  baptism  (holy  rites)  shall  continue  in  this  place.  Even 
so  I,  Alfred,  Dux,  and  Werburg,  pray  and  beseech,  in  the 
name  of  God  Almighty,  and  of  his  saints,  that  no  man  shall 
be  so  daring  as  to  sell  or  part  with  this  holy  book  from 
Christ’s  Church,  so  long  as  baptism  there  may  stand. 
(Signed)  Alfred,  Werburg,  Alhdryd.’  No  trace  appears  to 
exist  of  the  history  of  this  volume  from  the  time  it  was 
thus  given  to  Canterbury  Cathedral  until  it  was  purchased 
in  Italy,  and  added  to  this  library.  Here  also  is  a huge 
manuscript  copy  of  the  Bible,  written  upon  prepared  asses’ 
skin.  It  was  found  in  a convent  at  Prague,  when  that  city 
was  taken  by  the  Swedes  during  the  Thirty  Years’  War.  A 
copy  of  Koberger’s  Bible,  printed  at  Leyden,  1521,  and  the 
margins  of  which  are  filled  with  annotations  by  Martin 


40  6 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Luther.  Besides  these,  the  library  is  rich  in  manuscripts 
and  rare  editions.” 

The  King  of  Sweden  is  the  most  affable  and  approacha- 
ble monarch  in  Europe.  In  his  daily  walks,  or  while  going 
about  in  the  public  steamers  that  ply  through  the  waters 
of  the  city,  as  omnibuses  do  in  New  York,  he  enters  freely 
into  conversation  with  the  people.  To  strangers,  especially 
Americans,  he  is  exceedingly  kind,  or,  as  his  subjects  would 
say,  gracious.  I saw  him  frequently  while  he  was.  riding, 
but  came  no  nearer  to  his  Majesty.  He  had  one  of  the 
most  splendid  reviews  that  I had  ever  seen,  when  the 
whole  of  the  Swedish  army  that  is  stationed  in  this  part 
of  the  country,  together  with  the  militia,  all  liable  to  be 
called  on  to  do  military  duty,  are  put  through  a drill  for  a 
few  days  and  nights  every  year,  in  the  summer  season.  A 
vast  open  country,  hill,  wood  and  plain,  is  chosen,  tents 
pitched,  and  for  a few  days  mimic  war  goes  through  all  its 
motions,  saving  and  except  that  there  is  no  blood  shed. 
This  annual  exercise  does  something  to  keep  up  a mar- 
tial spirit,  and  makes  a few  grand  holidays,  when  the  whole 
city  is  agog  with  the  excitement.  A fete  day  in  Rome,  an 
emperor’s  day  in  Paris,  or  Derby  day  in  London,  would  not 
exceed  the  annual  review  in  Stockholm.  The  nobility  and 
fashion,  the  beauty  and  folly,  the  masses  of  people  in  all 
sorts  of  conveyances,  and  more  on  foot  than  on  wheels, 
were  out  at  the  parade.  The  squadrons  were  set  on  the 
hills,  so  far  apart  that  a telescope  was  needed  to  see  what 
was  going  on,  and  the  marching  and  countermarching 
made  a pretty  show  that  delighted  the  people,  and  gave 
the  soldiers  a taste  of  the  amusements  they  would  have 
when  rushing  into  battle  under  a blazing  sun,  and  blazing 
guns  in  front  of  them. 

The  wars  of  Sweden  occupy  a large  place  in  European 
history.  Yet  when  we  see  how  small  the  population,  how 


SWEDEN. 


40; 


limited  the  resources,  and  remote  the  situation  of  the 
country,  it  seems  incredible  that  human  wisdom  has  been 
so  foolish  as  to  permit  a race  of  kings  to  waste  the  lives 
and  wealth  of  a nation  of  honest  men,  in  the  miserable 
game  of  war. 

But  the  genius  of  Sweden  is  seen  in  a very  clever 
arrangement  to  make  the  burden  of  soldiering  as  light 
as  possible.  The  standing  army  proper  is  very  small 
and  has  little  to  do  at  present.  But  the  reserve  is 
large,  and  consists  of  men  who  are  distributed  about  the 
kingdom  and  quartered  on  the  government  lands,  which 
they  work  in  time  of  peace,  and  thus  earn  their  own  sup- 
port. If  the  crown  lands  are  leased  to  others,  a certain 
number  of  these  soldiers  is  set  apart  for,  or  quartered  on 
the  land  ; and  the  lessee  has  their  labor,  and  is  responsible 
for  their  support.  In  this  ingenious  way  the  government 
makes  its  land  pay  the  expenses  of  its  army  in  peace. 
We  might  take  a leaf  out  of  the  royal  book  of  Sweden, 
and,  by  a wise  administration  of  our  vast  national  landed 
property,  make  it  contribute  something  to  the  support  of 
the  government,  while  we  improved  its  value.  That  would 
be  certainly  more  statesmanlike  than  to  give  it  away  by 
millions  every  year  to  speculators.  The  Swedish  soldiers 
are  also  employed  in  making  roads,  and  on  other  public 
works,  as  ours  might  be,  greatly  to  their  own  moral  benefit, 
and  to  the  advantage  of  the  country. 

It  strikes  me  that  there  is  more  order  and  less  crime  in 
this  northern  part  of  Europe  than  in  any  other  country  I 
have  yet  visited.  I see  little  evidence  of  abject  poverty 
and  low  vice.  By  night  or  day  I have  not  seen  a person 
on  the  streets  at  Stockholm  who  seemed  to  be  of  the 
abandoned  class.  Longer  acquaintance  may  correct  this 
impression  and  reveal  another  state  of  facts.  Two  Amer- 
ican travellers  were  robbed  of  their  watches  and  money, 


408 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


at  the  hotel  where  I am  lodged,  but  a few  days  ago.  It  is 
not  at  all  likely  the  thief  is  a native  of  these  regions. 
He  has  probably  followed  the  travellers,  or,  what  is  quite  as 
likely,  been  one  of  their  travelling  companions.  The  land- 
lord paid  the  losses  without  a lawsuit,  and  the  Americans 
went  on  their  way. 


SWEDEN. 


4O9 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


SWEDEN  (Continued). 

DY  the  beautiful  island  of  Drottningholm,  on  which  the 
king’s  mother  resides  in  a palace  within  a park,  that 
seems  the  abode  of  peace  and  plenty,  and  along  the  shores 
of  other  islands  small  and  picturesque,  but  lovely  to  look 
on  as  we  pass  them  on  our  way,  we  sail  out  into  Lake 
Malar. 

It  is  a wide,  winding,  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  — one  of 
the  many  noble  lakes  that  Sweden  holds  in  her  bosom. 
Two  islands  in  it  come  so  nearly  together,  that  a draw- 
bridge for  a railroad  stretches  across,  and  opens  for  us  to 
pass  through,  and  then  we  sweep  out  into  another  expanse 
of  water,  the  shores  skirted  with  pines  and  hemlock ; no 
hills  in  sight,  but  the  scenery  is  lovely,  though  lacking 
grandeur.  We  are  going  into  the  heart  of  Sweden.  Now 
the  shores  are  cultivated  to  the  water’s  edge,  and  fine  farms 
rise  to  view,  with  here  and  there  a red  cottage,  with  a tile 
roof : all  the  peasant  houses  and  fisherman  cottages  are 
painted  with  red  ochre,  cheap,  but  unpleasant  to  the  eye. 
Now  the  shores  are  bolder,  rocky,  and  great  forest  trees, 
fir  and  spruce,  are  abundant. 

The  oldest  place  in  Sweden,  and  that  carries  us  back  into 
far  antiquity,  is  Sigtuna,  and  we  have  come  to  it,  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Malar,  about  four  hours  from  Stockholm. 
We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  remains  of  the  old  pagan  wor- 
ship of  Scandinavia,  where  the  altars  to  heathen  deities, 
whose  graves  (!)  we  are  going  to  see  to-day,  have  smoked 
with  human  sacrifices. 


4io 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Odin  or  Woden  (whence  comes  our  Wedensday  or  Wed- 
nesday), a hero  of  the  north,  — in  time  to  which  history,  at 
least  reliable  history,  runneth  not  back,  — here  established 
the  seat  of  his  power,  and  it  took  its  name  from  his  original 
title,  which  was  Sigge,  and  Tuna,  which  is  our  word  town. 
Here  Sigge,  or  Odin,  reared  stone  temples,  of  which  the 
ruins  are  before  us.  Here  his  power  became  so  great,  and 
such  the  reverence  of  rude  peoples  for  power,  that  the 
temples  and  altars  which  he  reared  to  gods  whom  he  wor- 
shipped, became,  in  the  eyes  and  hearts  of  the  people, 
dedicate  to  him,  whom  they  came  to  revere  and  worship 
as  a god.  From  this  spot  the  worship  of  Odin,  and  after- 
wards of  his  son  Thor  (whence  our  Thursday),  spread 
through  the  whole  of  the  North  of  Europe,  and,  in  spite  of 
the  subsequent  triumph  of  Roman  Christianity,  and  then 
of  the  Lutheran  Reformation,  the  Odin  superstition  — a 
secret,  unconfessed,  but  controlling  reverence  for  those 
heroic  human  deities,  the  hero  worship  of  the  human  soul  — 
still  obtains  among  the  more  ignorant  classes  of  the  people 
over  all  this  northern  country.  The  legends  that  have  come 
down  from  sire  to  son,  keep  alive  in  successive  generations 
the  hidden  fear  of  these  false  gods,  and  form  the  largest 
part  of  the  unwritten  poetry  and  romance  of  all  Scan- 
dinavia. 

Pirates  from  Finland  came  here  and  laid  waste  the  forti- 
fied town  of  Odin,  and  it  has  again  and  again  been  built  and 
destroyed ; but  here  is  the  remnant  of  an  ancient  temple  or 
church,  and  three  towers,  which  have  the  highest  interest 
of  antiquity  (whatever  that  is)  hanging,  like  mantling  ivy, 
all  about  them.  No  one  but  an  antiquary  would  wish  to 
spend  more  than  a moment  in  Sigtuna,  among  its  400 
inhabitants.  Tyre  and  Sidon  on  the  sea  coast  are  not  so 
desolate  as  this  spot,  which  seems  accursed  for  its  pagan 
crimes  and  impostures  in  days  long  since  gone  by. 

Sweet  pictures  of  rural  life  in  Sweden  were  seen  this 


SWEDEN. 


41 1 

morning  as  we  sailed  through  this  Lake  Malar.  Opposite  Sig- 
tuna,  and  a little  farther  on,  we  touched  the  shore,  and  landed 
Professor  Olivecrona,  of  the  University  of  Upsala,  with  his 
wife  and  a party  of  English  friends.  He  had  been  to 
Stockholm  to  meet  them,  and  bring  them  up  the  lake  to 
his  country  residence  in  summer.  It  was  a beautiful  man- 
sion, very  near  to  the  water’s  edge,  in  the  midst  of  woods 
and  delightful  walks.  The  children  and  servants  came 
down  to  the  landing  just  in  front  of  the  house,  to  a private 
wharf,  and  as  the  parents  went  ashore,  and  four  lovely 
children  in  their  light  summer  dresses  welcomed  them,  and 
greeted  the  friends  coming  with  them,  it  was  a scene  of 
domestic  beauty  and  happiness  that  quite  touched  an  old 
man’s  heart  some  three  or  four  thousand  miles  from  home. 

More  islands,  among  which  our  boat  makes  its  tortuous 
course,  coming  so  near  to  the  rocks  that  we  might  easily 
scrape  them  ; now  and  then  a bare  white  rock  holds  its 
peak  solitary  above  the  water,  and  a bird  of  prey  perches 
on  its  top,  looking  into  the  deep  for  his  dinner.  Now  the 
shores  are  clothed  with  green  forests,  and  again  we  emerge 
among  meadows,  and  in  the  bright  sun  the  contrasts  of 
light  and  shadow,  as  we  pass  by  the  pines  and  fir  trees,  are 
constantly  pleasing.  An  air  of  infinite  quietude  pervades 
the  region,  and  it  is  painful  to  believe  that  it  was  once  a 
“ habitation  of  cruelty.” 

Suddenly  a grand  old  chateau,  the  ancient  residence  of 
the  Brahe  family,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  illustrious  in 
Sweden,  opened  on  our  view.  It  was  built  in  1630,  and 
each  one  of  its  four  towers  is  surmounted  by  an  orrery,  in 
honor  of  the  famous  astronomer  whose  name  alone  has 
made  the  family  famous.  A boat  comes  off  from  the  shore, 
and  takes  passengers  who  wish  to  visit  the  house.  Its 
library  and  museum  and  galleries  of  art  make  it  a popular 
resort.  On  its  walls  are  portraits  of  Tycho,  and  the  Ebba 
Brahe,  whom  Gustavus  Adolphus  loved,  and  would  have 


412 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


married  but  for  more  ambitious  schemes  of  her  mother 
that  never  came  to  pass. 

During  this  delightful  passage  of  six  hours  through  Lake 
Malar,  in  one  of  the  loveliest  days  of  summer,  we  have  not 
seen  a sail  nor  a steamer,  except  the  return  boat  of  the 
line  that  has  brought  us.  And  this  fact  is  sufficient  to 
show  the  utter  stagnation  of  commercial  life  in  the  interior 
of  Sweden. 

I confess  to  surprise  on  coming  to  Upsala  and  finding  the 
ancient  university  here  in  high  prosperity,  with  all  the  ap- 
pliances of  education  that  first-class  institutions  require. 
Linnaeus,  the  great  botanist,  was  professor  here,  and  his 
statue  is  one  of  the  ornaments  of  the  university.  The 
Hospital,  — a new  and  extensive  building,  a royal  palace 
on  a hill,  the  Agricultural  College,  the  Library,  & c.,  with  a 
Botanical  Garden  and  ample  parks,  suggest  to  the  traveller 
that  in  Sweden  one  might  find  a home  to  his  mind,  if  his 
lot  had  been  cast  in  this  part  of  the  earth. 

You  have  a fondness  for  old  books  and  manuscripts. 
Here  they  are  in  abundance ; not  of  the  sort,  perhaps,  that 
most  antiquarians  would  run  after,  but,  nevertheless,  very 
precious  and  costly. 

Bishop  Ulfilas,  toward  the  close  of  the  fourth  century, 
translated  the  four  gospels  into  the  Gothic  language,  and 
his  translation  was  copied  in  letters  of  silver  upon  vellum 
of  a pale  purple  color,  in  characters  very  like  the  Runic. 
This  manuscript  is  the  very  oldest  extant  in  the  Teutonic 
tongue,  and  was  probably  made  by  the  Ostro-Gothic  scribes 
in  Italy.  It  was  once  owned  by  an  abbey  in  Westphalia. 
Then  it  was  treasured  up  in  Cologne ; then  by  the  fortunes 
of  war  it  passed  to  Konigsberg,  and  to  Amsterdam,  with 
Vossius,  on  whose  death  the  Swedish  chancellor  bought  it 
and  presented  it  to  the  University  of  Upsala.  It  is  known 
among  biblical  scholars  as  the  Codex  Argenteus , or  Silver 
Copy,  from  the  style  of  the  lettering. 


SWEDEN, 


413 


If  you  have  a taste  for  Icelandic  literature,  so  refreshing 
in  the  heats  of  summer,  here  you  can  find  the  oldest  and 


Ups  a la. 

coldest  of  the  Eddas  ; and  alongside  of  them  is  a Bible  with 
the  marginal  notes  of  Luther  and  Melancthon.  Students 
in  and  out  of  the  university  have  free  access  to  these  treas- 
ures, and  the  reading-room  is  a pleasant  resort  for  those 


414 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


who  love  to  refresh  themselves  in  the  midst  of  a hundred 
thousand  books,  in  all  tongues  and  every  realm  of  human 
thought. 

About  fifty  professors  and  fifteen  hundred  students  com- 
pose the  faculty  and  attendance  of  this  famous  university. 
It  was  founded  in  1477,  and  has  but  one  rival  in  Sweden, 
that  at  Ludd,  founded  in  1666.  The  expense  of  a student’s 
education,  including  board,  fees,  &c.,  is  about  three  hundred 
dollars  a year. 

No  one  can  be  admitted  to  practise  in  any  of  three  pro- 
fessions,— law,  medicine,  or  divinity,  — without  taking  his 
degrees  at  one  of  the  two  universities.  This  ensures  a high 
order  of  acquirements  in  professional  men,  and  when  we 
state  one  fact  in  addition,  that  one  male  person  in  every 
688  in  Sweden  enjoys  an  education  at  the  universities,  it 
will  be  seen  that  these  institutions  reach  the  whole  people, 
and  extend  their  advantages  into  the  midst  of  the  masses. 
Sweden,  and  in  this  respect  she  is  not  singular  in  Europe, 
has  not  made  the  mistake  which  we  in  the  United  States 
have  been  making,  of  multiplying  little  colleges,  and  little 
theological  seminaries,  one-horse  institutions,  with  the  idea 
that,  by  bringing  a school  to  the  door  of  every  man,  or  of 
every  church,  we  should  be  enlarging  the  area  of  educa- 
tion, and  multiplying  the  number  of  educated  men.  Thus 
we  have  reduced  the  standard  of  fitness  for  professorships. 
Thus  we  have  diminished  the  number  of  students.  Lower- 
ing the  mark  to  which  scholars  should  aspire,  we  have 
cheapened  education,  suppressed  literary  ambition,  made 
the  professions  less  attractive,  and  filled  them  with  an  infe- 
rior order  of  men,  compared  with  what  they  would  have 
been  had  the  standard  of  great  universities,  with  their  high 
qualifications  of  professorships  and  degrees,  been  main- 
tained. If  all  the  money  which  has  been  expended  in  the 
maintenance  of  feeble  and  famishing  colleges  and  divinity 
schools  had  been  applied  to  the  education  of  youth  in  two. 


SWEDEN. 


415 


three,  or  four  universities,  they  would  have  been  far  better 
taught,  and  the  surplus  of  money  over  and  above  the  ex- 
penses of  their  education  would  endow  a new  university 
as  often  as  the  extension  of  territory  and  the  increase  of 
population  render  it  necessary. 

A student  of  the  university  is  required  to  wear  a cap  of 
peculiar  make,  to  distinguish  him,  not  in  the  university 
town  only,  but  wherever  he  may  travel  in  Sweden.  The 
cap  is  white,  with  a black  border,  and  a rosette  of  the 
national  colors  in  front.  This  requisition  is  useful  in  keep- 
ing the  student  upon  his  good  behavior,  and  also  as  a peri- 
patetic advertisement  of  the  educational  institutions  of  the 
country.  It  is  only  by  slow  degrees  that  our  people  come 
into  the  habit  of  putting  classes  into  uniform.  It  is  but 
recently  that  the  police  were  so  clad  : now  we  have  letter- 
carriers,  railway-  officials,  &c.  The  clergy  formerly  were 
generally  known  by  a white  neckcloth,  but  that  has  ceased 
to  be  their  distinction. 

The  old  cathedral  had  the  appearance  of  neglect;  it  was 
out  one  side  from  the  busy  haunts  of  men,  and  this  was  in 
its  favor,  but  it  seemed  to  be  neglected.  Twenty-four 
whitewashed  columns  support  the  roof.  In  side  chapels  are 
the  tombs  and  the  remains  of  the  old  kings  of  Sweden. 
And  when  I had  spelled  out  some  of  the  Latin  inscriptions, 
and  had  linked  the  names  of  these  sleepers  with  the  old- 
time  stories  of  the  land,  the  venerable  cathedral  began  to 
take  upon  itself  the  form  of  a great  monument  of  the  dead 
past.  And  well  it  might,  for  the  first  stones  were  laid  for 
its  foundation  in  the  year  1289,  and  it  was  consecrated  in 
1435.  Its  dimensions  rise  into  the  sublime,  for  it  is  370 
feet  long,  141  feet  wide,  and  1 1 5 feet  high. 

The  columns  within  are  capped  with  carvings  of  grotesque 
beasts,  strangely  out  of  taste  in  the  house  of  God.  Lin- 
naeus lies  buried  here,  and  a splendid  mural  tablet  and  bronze 
medallion  portrait  of  him  adorn  the  wall.  Here  lie  Gustavus 


416 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


Wasa  and  two  of  his  wives,  and  a long  series  of  fresco 
paintings  in  seven  compartments  celebrate  the  great  events 
in  the  life  of  this  illustrious  man.  Here,  too,  is  a tomb  of 
John  III.,  remarkable  for  this,  — that  it  was  made  in  Italy, 
was  lost  at  sea  on  its  way  here,  was  fished  up  sixty  years 
afterwards,  and  brought  to  this  spot. 

The  sacristan  was  very  kind  in  revealing  to  our  not  very 
reverent  eyes  the  precious  things  here  kept  for  special  exhi- 
bition to  those  who  would  pay  for  the  privilege.  With  this 
understanding  we  were  permitted  to  behold  crowns  and 
sceptres,  a gold  cup  two  feet  high,  a dagger  that  had  been 
stuck  into  a king,  and  a statue  of  the  old  god-king  Thor ! 
This  last  is  not  worshipped  here,  but  is  cherished  as  a 
memorial  of  the  times  when  paganism  was  prevalent,  and 
as  a trophy  of  the  triumph  of  Christianity  over  the  powers 
of  darkness. 

About  three  miles  north  of  Upsala,  the  seat  of  the  great 
university,  is  Old  Upsala,  more  sacred  than  any  other  spot 
in  Sweden  : for  here  are  the  lofty  mounds  which  tradition 
has  consecrated  as  graves  of  the  gods,  — the  gods  who 
aforetime  were  held  in  reverent  awe  and  honor  by  the 
Scandinavian  race,  and  who,  to  this  day,  hold  some  sort 
of  sway  over  the  rude  masses  of  the  North. 

We  rode  out  in  carriages  from  the  university,  and 
passed  in  sight  of  the  house  which  covers  the  Mora  Stone, 
071  which  the  king's  of  Sweden  were  chosen  and  crowned. 
It  is  made  of  about  twelve  different  stones  joined  and  in- 
scribed with  the  names  of  the  monarchs  who  have  been 
elected  by  the  voice  of  the  people.  In  1780  the  house  was 
built  over  it  by  Gustavus  III.,  but  that  was  seven  centuries 
after  the  first  inscription  upon  it ; for  here  it  is  written 
that  Sten  Kil  was  chosen  in  1060,  and  seven  others,  down 
to  Christian  I.,  in  1457.  Gustavus  Wasa  met  his  subjects 
here  in  mass-meeting  and  addressed  them  from  this  stone 
in  1520.  The  hoar  of  ages,  with  all  the  memories  of  the 


SWEDEN. 


417 


revolutions  of  these  centuries,  gathers  on  this  spot.  It  is 
now  only  a shrine  for  pilgrims  with  antiquity  on  the  brain, 
who  wander  the  world  over  to  see  what  the  world  has  been. 
I have  a large  development  of  that  weakness,  and  it  has  a 
great  gratification  in  this  part  of  Europe : more,  indeed, 
than  it  had  in  Egypt  ; less  than  in  Palestine.  In  the  Holy 
Land  the  sacred  associations  with  the  religion  we  love 
makes  every  acre  of  it  dear  to  the  heart : we  take  pleasure 
in  every  stone,  and  favor  all  the  dust  of  Judea.  With  less 
awe, — indeed,  with  no  awe,  — but  with  wonder,  we  now 
come  to  Old  Upsala,  to  the  graves  of  the  pagan  deities. 

They  are  three  conical  mounds,  about  fifty  feet  in  height, 
very  regular  in  shape,  with  a broad  plateau  at  the  summit, 
and  the  unvarying  tradition  of  the  country  is,  that  the 
largest  of  the  mounds  is  the  grave  of  Odin  ; the  next, 
that  of  Thor;  and  the  smallest,  the  grave  of  Freytag, 
Odin’s  daughter.  In  all  probability  these  are  natural  hil- 
locks artificially  reduced  to  these  regular  forms,  and  super- 
stitiously  set  apart  in  the  minds  of  the  people  as  the  graves 
of  persons  to  whom  their  ancestors  paid  divine  honors. 
To  this  hour,  the  name  of  Odin  is  used  as  that  of  a demon 
king,  and  “ Go  to  Odin  ” is  the  profane  execration  which 
answers  to  the  modern  imprecation,  “ Go  ta  the  devil.” 

On  this  spot  the  great  temple  to  Odin  was  erected,  and 
his  worship  maintained  with  horrid  rites  and  ceremonies. 
The  altars  here  have  smoked  with  human  blood  and  burnt 
sacrifices.  In  the  sacred  groves  that  surrounded  the  tem- 
ple these  savage  deities  were  propitiated  with  all  manner  of 
offerings,  parents  laying  their  children  with  their  own 
hands  upon  the  altars,  and  slaying  them  in  the  face  of 
heaven.  A record  still  exists  of  seventy-two  bodies  being 
seen  suspended  at  one  time  from  the  limbs  of  trees  in  this 
grove  ; men,  and  lower  animals  than  men,  if  any  animals 
are  lower  than  . such  men,  being  offered  in  company  to 
please  the  deities  of  the  wood. 

27 


418 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


We  entered  the  old  church,  the  tower  of  which  is  said 
to  be  a part  of  the  temple.  This  tower  is  the  most  ancient 
building  in  Scandinavia.  A rude  stone  image  of  a human 
being,  uncared  for  and  lying  in  total  neglect  and  dirt,  was 
pointed  out  as  an  idol  of  Thor,  that  had  once  and  often 
been  worshipped  on  this  spot  and  honored  with  these  hu- 
man sacrifices.  It  seemed  more  likely  that  it  was  a bogus 
image,  and,  therefore,  all  the  more  fitting  to  be  presented 
as  one  of  the  false  gods  of  a superstitious  race,  whose 
reverence  is  not  yet  so  thoroughly  extinguished  as  to  pre- 
vent them  from  leaving  hay  on  the  highway  at  night,  to 
feed  the  horses  of  Odin  when  he  comes  riding  through  the 
country  on  his  missions  of  destruction. 

On  the  reach  of  the  Reformation  to  this  region,  the  great 
battle  of  faith  was  fought  on  this  spot.  Here  Gustavus 
Wasa,  in  his  robes  of  royalty,  addressed  the  crowds  of 
pagan  people,  and  besought  them  to  turn  from  their  idols 
to  the  living  God.  They  replied  with  sullen  rage,  and 
threatened  him  with  death.  He  finally  flung  off  his  robes, 
and  told  them  they  might  have  Odin  for  their  king  if  they 
would,  but  he  would  not  be  their  king  unless  they  would 
worship  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and  his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 
This  was  the  decisive  hour  and  word.  They  yielded,  but 
only  an  outward  obedience,  a lip  service,  and  it  required 
long  years  and  generations  to  extirpate  the  pagan  worship 
from  the  minds  of  the  people.  One  king  of  Sweden, 
Domold,  was  actually  offered  in  sacrifice  on  Odin’s  altar  to 
propitiate  the  gods  when  the  people  were  suffering  by 
famine.  And  when  Eric  V.,  in  1001,  embraced  the  Chris- 
tian religion  and  destroyed  the  temple,  the  tower  of  which 
is  said  to  be  standing  now  as  part  of  this  church,  the  people 
in  their  fury  put  him  to  death. 

From  Odin,  or  Woden,  as  he  was  called,  comes  our 
Weden’s-day,  and  from  Thor  our  Thur’s-day,  and  from 
Fry-tag  our  Fri-day  ; and  these  every-day  words  make  links 


SWEDEN. 


419 


of  association  to  connect  our  times  with  those  fearful  days, 
now  past  and  gone  for  ever. 

I was  surprised  by  finding  the  practice  of  dining  out  of 
doors  in  summer  quite  as  common  here  as  in  France.  On  our 
return  from  Upsala  to  Stockholm,  Dr.  Scholberg  went  with 
us  to  spend  part  of  a day  at  the  Deer  Park,  a vast  tract  of 
land  in  easy  reach  from  the  capital,  that  has  been  set  apart 
for  the  use  of  the  people.  It  is  entered  through  a grand 
gateway,  ornamented  with  a bronze  deer  on  each  side  ; within 
are  villas  and  cafes,  and  theatres  and  concert-rooms.  Long 
drives  over  country  roads  take  us  under  majestic  old  trees, 
— oaks  and  elms,  pines  and  spruce  ; and  now  and  then  we 
pass  parties  taking  their  mid-day  or  evening  meal  under 
the  trees,  or  among  the  beautiful  gardens  that  surround 
their  houses.  Our  ride  takes  us  up  and  down  hill,  in  sight 
often  of  the  sea : one  has  a taste  of  the  country,  rare 
indeed  to  be  had  so  near  the  town.  The  quickest  way  to 
get  there  is  to  take  one  of  the  many  little  steamers  that 
ply,  like  our  omnibuses  or  street-cars,  among  the  waters  of 
this  northern  Venice  ; but  many  of  them  do  not  hold  as 
many  passengers  as  a horse-car  carries.  They  are  just  like 
a large  row-boat,  with  sharp  bows  and  stern,  and  a boiler  in 
the  middle.  They  require  but  very,  little  coal,  and,  being 
driven  with  great  care,  very  seldom,  if  ever,  blow  up  the 
people  sitting  so  near  to  the  boiler  and  all  its  works,  as  to 
suggest  continually  the  idea  that  it  would  require  no  great 
effort  to  scald  the  company.  If  our  American  people  could 
do  any  thing  with  moderation,  they  might  introduce  these 
little  iron  steamers  with  great  usefulness  into  the  North  and 
East  Rivers,  and,  indeed,  into  the  waters  of  all  our  great 
cities.  We  often  availed  ourselves  of  them,  for  they  run 
everywhere,  and  the  fare  is  lower  than  in  our  city  cars.  A 
few  minutes  of  fast  running  brought  us  to  Deer  Park,  and 
our  Swedish  doctor  led  us  to  what  was  considered  the 
best  restaurant  in  the  place.  Hundreds  of  people  were 


420 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


already  there  to  dine,  and  at  the  middle  of  the  day.  It  did 
not  speak  well  for  the  industry  and  habits  of  the  people, 
that  so  many  of  them  could  thus  quit  business  at  such  an 
hour  and  go  off  out  of  town  to  their  dinner.  And  Stock- 
holm is  the  only  city  in  the  North  where  there  is  such  a 
class  of  people.  The  city  has  the  name  of  being  very  like 
Venice  in  this  matter.  And  here  they  were  in  the  middle 
of  the  day,  hundreds  of  people,  away  from  home,  and  mak- 
ing a business  of  eating  and  drinking. 

Dinner  was  a study  and  an  art.  They  had  some  science 
in  it.  There  was  an  ante-prandium  and  the  prandium,  and 
the  dessert  and  the  post-prandium,  and  more  post  that  I did 
not  see  ; but  what  I did  may  be  set  down  to  give  you  an 
idea  of  the  Swedes  at  dinner.  First,  every  gentleman  steps 
to  a side  table  and  takes  a glass  of  schnapps,  or  gin,  or 
other  liquor  that  he  prefers,  and  appetizes  himself  by  eating 
of  salt  fish,  dried  tongue,  cold  meats,  bread  and  cheese, 
making  a very  satisfactory  snack  or  lunch,  which  would 
serve  most  of  men  for  a fair  dinner.  The  second  course  is 
soup,  and  one  who  is  recently  from  Paris  needs  a little  edu- 
cation to  make  it  pleasant  to  his  taste.  Then  follow  salmon, 
chicken,  roast  beef,  pudding,  ice  cream,  jellies  ; and  with 
these  dishes,  which  are  served  one  after  another,  and  all  to 
be  eaten,  are  the  usual  trimmings  of  bread  and  butter,  with 
vegetables  to  any  extent.  When  this  bill  of  fare  — a dinner 
to  order,  and  exquisitely  cooked  and  served  in  good  style  — 
is  disposed  of,  you  are  expected  to  indulge  in  the  national 
punch,  an  oily,  fiery,  pungent  liquor,  that  should  not  be 
taken  without  medical  advice  ; yet  it  may  be  that  it  assists 
digestion  after  the  organs  have  been  overladen  with  such  a 
dinner  as  I have  just  eaten  and  described.  Now,  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  such  dinners  are  very  largely  enjoyed  by  the 
people,  for  all  that  I have  mentioned  may  be  had  for 
seventy-five  cents!  And  as  you  pay  for  just  what  you 
order,  and  no  more,  it  is  possible  to  make  a sufficient  dinner 


SWEDEN, 


421 


for  half  the  money,  and  thousands  do.  We  protracted  our 
stay  till  the  evening  (not  the  dark)  came  on,  and  rode  to 
the  charming  rural  retreat  for  the  royal  household,  and  had 


Costumes  of  Sweden. 

the  pleasure  of  gratifying  our  democratic  eyes  by  seeing  the 
ladies  of  the  family  taking  their  tea  out  of  doors,  so  much 


422 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


in  the  same  way  that  other  people  take  theirs,  we  should 
not  have  suspected  them  of  being  any  thing  more  than 
common,  had  we  not  been  told  of  it,  and  actually  had  seen 
the  august  servant,  with  a white  wig  and  pompous  strut, 
bringing  the  “ tea  things  ” out  to  the  little  table  in  the 
garden.  So  many  other  little  family  circles  did  we  see 
enjoying  themselves  in  the  same  way,  that  we  could  readily 
see  it  was  a national  habit,  and  quite  in  harmony  with  those 
domestic  pictures  which  Frederika  Bremer  has  made  us  so 
familiar  with  in  her  letters  about  Swedish  homes. 

One  thing  impressed  me  daily  in  these  north  countries  of 
Europe, — the  general  content  and  comfort  of  the  people. 
The  climate  has  not  helped  them  to  this,  for  it  is  far  less 
favorable  to  general  enjoyment  than  that  of  the  south.  But 
there  is  an  amount  of  industry,  intelligence,  and  morality, 
that  make  a contrast  easily  marked  between  the  people 
of  Sweden,  Norway,  and  Denmark,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Spain  and  Italy,  I find  no  such  masses  of  squalid 
vice  and  misery  here,  as  one  may  easily  see  in  Naples  or 
Seville. 

Sweden  has  all  the  elements  of  a great  and  good  people. 
She  is  making  progress,  too,  in  moral  and  intellectual  cul- 
ture/and her  people  are  rising  in  the  scale  of  social  enjoy- 
ment. I notice  these  things  in  the  rural  districts  even 
more  than  in  the  cities,  which  are  so  much  the  same  all 
the  world  over. 


SWEDEN. 


423 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

SWEDEN  ( Continued ). 

"V^7E  are  going  across  the  kingdom,  from  Stockholm  to 
^ * Gottenburg.  We  might  be  carried  through  by  rail 
in  a day  ; but  what  should  we  see  of  life  in  Sweden  if  we 
went  flying  over  it  in  that  style  ? We  will  take  the  slower 
and  better  way,  by  the  raging  canal.  This  canal  is  the  Erie 
of  Sweden.  It  extends  from  lake  to  lake,  and  so  connects 
sea  with  sea,  the  Baltic  with  the  Atlantic ; it  leaves  Malar 
lake,  and  takes  lakes  Wetter  and  Wener  in  its  way,  and  all 
the  chief  towns  of  the  interior;  and  as  the  travelling  is 
rationally  moderate,  the  pauses  frequent  and  long,  we  have 
a fine  opportunity  to  study  the  country  and  the  people 
whom  we  have  come  to  see. 

It  is  a steam  canal ; that  is,  a canal  for  steam  naviga- 
tion, as  the  Erie  and  other  canals  of  our  country  ought  to 
be,  and  might  be,  but  for  the  penny-wise  and  pound-foolish 
policy  of  politicians.  The  steamers  are  small.  We  em- 
barked for  this,  inland  voyage  on  the  Oscar,  a royal  name. 
The  cabin  had  ten  state-rooms,  with  two  berths  in  each ; a 
wash-stand  in  the  middle  had  a movable  cover,  making  a 
table,  on  which  I am  writing.  The  boat  is  furnished  with 
great  simplicity,  but  is  comfortable.  It  is  crowded  with 
passengers  ; several  families,  with  children  and  luggage 
immense,  probably  emigrants  on  their  way  to  the  land  of 
promise.  Their  friends  in  troops  thronged  the  wharf  to 
see  them  go,  and  when  the  hand-shakings  and  hugging  and 
kissing  were  finished,  the  boat  was  off,  and  the  tears  and 
waving  of  rags  continued  as  we  steamed  away. 


424 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  clouds  wept  too,  for  a few  moments,  and  then,  like 
the  passengers,  dried  up  ; smiles  and  the  sun  came  out 
again,  and  beautiful  Stockholm  seemed  more  beautiful  as 
we  left  it  than  it  did  while  we  were  in  it.  The  green 
slopes  around  the  city  were  joyous  in  the  sinking  sun. 
The  iron  steeple  of  the  Ridderkolm,  and  the  white  palace, 
and  many  spires,  glistened  in  the  light.  Gems  of  islands, 
with  pretty  bridges  uniting  their  shores,  neat  villas,  with 
lawns  carpeted  with  rich  verdure,  abodes,  we  may  hope,  of 
sweet  content  and  comfort,  are  on  either  hand,  and  now 
and  then,  from  a window  or  balcony,  a white  handkerchief 
greets  a friend  on  board,  who  responds,  and  we  have  a tele- 
graphic communication  at  once  with  the  people  we  are 
leaving.  I do  love  to  find  in  strange  lands,  and  among 
those  whose  language  is  all  unknown  to  me,  the  same  ties, 
the  same  loves  and  hopes,  that  fill  our  own  hearts  at  home. 
It  makes  me  know  that  all  these  people  are  my  kin,  chil- 
dren of  my  Father. 

We  have  been  passing  across  Lake  Malar.  But  now,  at 
seven  in  the  evening,  we  enter  a lock,  and  the  Gota  Canal 
begins.  The  village  of  Sodertelje  receives  us  here.  So 
sweet  does  it  seem  to  be,  in  its  quiet  repose,  that  every 
house  appears  to  invite  you  to  stop  and  make  a visit.  It 
was  at  this  point  that  St.  Olaf,  when  a viking,  was  shut  in 
by  the  fleets  of  the  Swedes  and  Danes,  and  he  cut  his  way 
out,  not  through  the  enemies’  fleets,  but  by  digging  a canal 
to  the  Baltic  ! This  was  in  the  eleventh  century,  and  no 
such  feats  of  rapid  canalling  were  known  from  that  time 
down  to  the  Dutch  Gap  ditch,  during  the  late  war  in  Amer- 
ica. The  story  of  the  saint  is  history,  and  the  other  one 
will  not  be  forgotten. 

The  passage  of  the  lock  from  the  lake  to  the  canal  is 
tedious,  but  in  the  mean  time  the  villagers  come  on  board 
and  greet  friends,  the  children,  as  in  all  other  countries, 
ply  their  sales  of  cake  and  fruit,  till  we  are  out  and  enter 


SWEDEN. 


425 


the  Gota  Canal.  The  banks  for  some  time  are  fifty  feet 
high,  but  they  slope  away  gradually,  and  are  beautiful  in 
their  green  sod.  Neat  cottages  and  wooded  walks  and 
gardens,  signs  of  taste  and  culture,  and  plenty,  are  on  our 
right  hand  and  left ; and  these  dwellings  are  so  near  that 
the  canal  seems  a street  like  those  of  Venice,  where  you 
step  from  the  gondola  to  the  marble  threshold  of  your 
house.  Passengers  on  board  recognize  their  acquaintance, 
and  exchange  salutations.  Now  and  then  an  old  mansion, 
with  many  out-buildings,  shows  that  an  extensive  farm  is 
behind ; and  occasionally  we  pass  a village  which  appears 
to  be  of  modern  creation,  as  if  progress  was  making  even 
in  Sweden.  We  are  following  the  course  of  the  very  same 
canal  that  St.  Olaf,  the  viking,  cut  in  such  a hurry  eight 
hundred  years  ago,  and  we  soon  come  to  the  end  of  it,  and 
run  again  into  the  sea,  or  a bay  of  the  Baltic,  and  keep 
along  the  coast,  among  a wilderness  of  islands,  touching 
now  and  then  at  one  of  them  to  drop  or  take  a passenger. 
Heaps  of  rock  on  the  points  are  painted  white  to  guide 
us  in  the  mazes  of  these  intricate  passes,  and  sometimes 
trees  have  been  moored  in  the  water  to  mark  the  path- 
way of  the  ship.  Ruins  of  castles,  each  one  of  which 
has  its  legends  as  romantic  as  those  of  the  Rhine,  still 
haunt  these  rocks.  Stegeborg  Castle  is  the  most  pictur- 
esque in  its  solitary  grandeur  and  desolation,  and  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  country  associate  it  with  many  a hard-fought 
fight  in  times  so  far  gone  by  that  history  is  rather  too 
romantic  to  be  credited. 

The  night  is  now  about  us,  but  in  these  latitudes  it 
makes  little  difference  for  seeing  the  country  whether  it  is 
night  or  day.  There  was  no  sleeping  to  be  done,  for  some 
of  the  rising  generation  rose  all  night,  and  made  the  little 
cabin  vocal  with  their  cries,  so  that  only  those  who  enjoy 
the  music  of  sleepless  babes  could  be  said  to  have  a pleas- 
ant night  in  that  vicinity.  Out  of  my  little  window  I see 


426 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the'  islands,  with  their  stunted  firs,  shores  rarely  rising  so 
as  to  be  entitled  to  the  dignity  of  hills,  sometimes  a forest, 
and  here  and  there  a house,  red  and  neat,  with  no  signs  of 
slovenliness  or  poverty. 

It  was  very  early  in  the  morning  when  we  left  the  canal- 
boat,  and  in  the  midst  of  a drizzling  rain  followed  a porter 
who  had  been  directed  by  the  captain  to  take  our  luggage 
to  a hotel,  the  best  hotel  in  the  village  of  Soderkoping. 

This  was  the  village  we  had  selected  as  a quiet,  retired, 
obscure,  but  pleasant  place  to  pass  a sabbath  in,  to  see 
the  Swedes  in  their  rural  churches  and  in  their  humble 
homes. 

It  was  so  early  when  we  came  to  the  little  wooden 
tavern  that  no  one  was  astir.  We  went  around  to  the 
back  door,  as  the  porter  led  us,  and  there  knocked  long 
and  loud,  till  a maid  thrust  her  head  out  of  the  window, 
and  made  signs  that  she  would  come  down  and  let  us  in, 
which  she  did.  The  American  language  was  of  no  use 
now.  French  was  no  better.  But  we  managed  to  let  her 
know,  morning  as  it  was,  we  wanted  beds.  She  led  us  to 
the  chambers,  and  when  we  pointed  to  the  sheets  as  hav- 
ing already  seen  service  since  the  last  wash,  she  took  the 
hint  in  a moment,  and,  pulling  them  off,  supplied  their 
places  with  linen  without  wrinkles.  After  a few  hours 
sleep  we  rose  for  breakfast,  taking  what  should  be  set 
before  us.  It  proved  to  be  comfortable.  Coffee  with 
delicious  cream,  bread  and  beefsteak  on  a novel  plan, 
chopped  fine,  made  into  cakes  and  fried  in  butter  with 
spices. 

It  was  our  first  sabbath  in  Sweden.  .An  ancient  brick 
church  with  a spire,  a venerable  structure,  stood  near  a 
swiftly  flowing  stream  of  water,  embowered  in  majestic 
trees,  and  surrounded  with  the  graves  of  buried  generations 
of  those  who  had  worshipped  within  its  old  walls.  It  was  a 
solemn,  yet  beautiful  spot,  and  all  its  surroundings  were  in 


SWEDEN. 


427 


keeping.  The  graveyard  was  laid  off  in  little  plats,  and  the 
graves  were  bordered  with  flowers.  On  some  graves  pots 
of  flowers  were  set,  and  on  others  fresh-plucked  flowers 
were  strewn,  soon  to  wither  and  to  be  replaced.  The  bell 
was  tolling  and  the  people  were  assembling ; all  came  on 
foot  and  by  walks  leading  through  the  yard  from  various 
parts  of  the  village.  Some  had  come  evidently  from  a dis- 
tance in  the  country,  with  books  in  their  hands.  All  were 
decently  devout  in  their  deportment  as  they  came ; even 
among  the  young  there  was  no  levity,  they  were  on  a 
solemn  errand,  and  were  sensible  of  the  time  and  place. 

The  sexton  sat  at  the  door,  with  a big  key  in  his  hand, 
and  opened  the  door  to  let  the  people  in,  but  locked  it  when 
prayer  began,  and  kept  it  locked  till  prayer  was  ended, 
and  then  admitted  those  who  had  gathered.  Earthen 
pitchers  or  jugs  stood  on  stools  near  the  door  to  receive 
the  offerings,  and  many  cast  in  what  they  had.  The  floor 
was  of  stone,  and  many  were  tombstones,  the  inscriptions 
worn  by  the  footsteps  of  the  living,  so  that  the  names  of 
the  dead  were  illegible.  Eight  immense  whitewashed  pil- 
lars supported  Gothic  arches  on  which  the  roof  rested. 
The  pulpit  was  of  wood,  elaborately  carved,  with  Scripture 
scenes  and  figures.  A sounding-board  above  it  was  orna- 
mented with  quaint  devices,  and  surmounted  by  a human 
figure,  perhaps  an  image  of  the  Saviour.  On  the  front  the 
word  Jehovah,  in  Hebrew  letters,  was  inscribed.  The 
pews  were  very  plain,  unpainted  slips,  with  doors  locked 
until  the  owners  came,  whose  names  were  on  slips  of  paper 
attached.  On  the  sides  of  the  church,  long  rude  seats  were 
free.  We  occupied  them.  The  congregation  was  very 
slow  in  getting  in.  The  same  variety  of  dress  that  would 
mark  one  of  our  rural  churches  was  apparent.  Rich  and 
poor  met  together.  Some  of  the  ladies  were  dressed  elab- 
orately with  the  flat  French  bonnet;  others  in  a costume 
of  the  country,  a small  black  shawl  or  kerchief  thrown  over 


428 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  head  and  pinned  under  the  chin.  The  men  were  all 
rustic  in  garb  and  manner,  accustomed  to  out-of-door  hard 
work.  All  appeared  devotional,  respectful ; old  and  young, 
on  coming  in,  bowed  in  silent  prayer ; all  stood  in  singing. 
The  service  was  Lutheran,  the  established  religion.  All 
had  books  of  the  service,  which  was  read  with  a loud  voice 
and  much  intonation  by  the  clerk.  The  preacher  was  a 
handsome  young  man,  with  great  energy  of  voice  and  no 
action.  His  text  had  the  name  Jesus  Christ  in  it,  and 
the  words  were  often  repeated  with  tenderness  and  earnest- 
ness. I could  understand  no  other  words,  and  could  only 
hope  that  as  even  those  were  sweet  to  my  ears,  the  preacher 
was  commending  him  to  the  congregation  as  the  chief 
among  ten  thousand,  the  one  altogether  lovely. 

Many  of  the  men  took  snuff.  The  man  on  my  right,  two 
on  my  left,  two  in  front  of  me,  held  the  box  under  their 
noses  to  catch  what  fell  back  in  the  operation.  They  also 
offered  the  same  boxes  to  me.  One  of  the  men  sneezed 
immoderately  four  or  five  times.  The  sexton  going  up  the 
aisle,  and  standing  on  the  tombstone  of  some  old  saint, 
blew  his  (the  sexton’s,  not  the  saint’s)  nose  with  his  fingers, 
wiped  it  with  a blue  cotton  handkerchief,  polished  it  off  with 
the  back  of  his  hand,  and  then  walked  up  to  the  pulpit  to 
do  his  errand. 

Bating  the  snuff-taking  and  the  nasal  twang  in  the  sing- 
ing, the  service  was  pleasing  even  to  us  who  heard  no  words 
that  we  could  understand.  We  worshipped  in  spirit,  and 
felt  at  home  among  the  children  of  our  Father,  not  one  of 
whom  knew  that  two  strangers  from  beyond  the  sea  were 
in  their  village  church  on  this  pleasant  summer  sabbath 
morning. 

Soderkoping  proved  to  be  more  of  a place  than  we  had 
anticipated.  It  was,  and  is  even  a watering-place.  Pleas- 
antly planted  on  the  banks  of  the  great  canal,  with  historic 
and  towering  heights  rising  by  its  side,  and  rejoicing  also 


SWEDEN. 


42Q 


in  the  possession  of  a mineral  spring,  whose  healing  virtues 
have  been  spread  among  the  people  of  this  and  other 
countries,  it  has  become  a resort  for  invalids.  It  maintains 
at  one  end  of  the  village  a series  of  bathing-houses,  and 
modest  lodgings  for  visitors,  and  a “ conversation  hall  ” of 
moderate  dimensions,  and  some  hundreds  of  the  ill-to-do 
may  be  carefully  cared  for,  and,  perhaps,  cured  at  the  same 
time.  But  there  is  no  hotel,  nor  any  thing  worth  the  name. 
The  village  is  primitive,  simple,  neat  as  a new  pin,  not  the 
sign  of  a new  building  going  on  anywhere.  It  might 
have  been  finished  years  ago,  and  kept  in  order  to  be  looked 
at  as  a curiosity.  The  dwellings  are,  all  of  them,  low,  un- 
pretending, small,  and  usually  of  wood. 

Dr.  Gustaff  Bottiger,  physician  and  surgeon,  called  at 
our  lodgings  in  Soderkoping.  He  spoke  the  French  well, 
and  English  tolerably,  and  we  were  able  to  get  on  with  him 
delightfully.  He  is  a fine  looking  man,  accomplished  in 
manners,  and  superintendent  of  the  “ Water  Cure.” 

The  mineral  waters  of  this  locality  have  had  a reputation 
in  Europe  through  the  long  period  of  eight  hundred  years. 
They  were  formerly  resorted  to  by  invalids  from  Italy  and 
Spain,  as  well  as  other  countries.  But  in  the  course  of 
time,  and  after  the  discovery  of  other  springs,  and  the  in- 
vention of  more,  the  fame  of  these  in  Sweden  declined. 
The  town  declined  also.  But  when  the  modern  water-cure 
idea  sprang  into  being,  an  establishment  was  opened  here, 
which  has  proved  to  be  a wonderful  success.  It  is  resorted 
to  by  a thousand  persons  every  year,  who  come  as  patients, 
and  patiently  submit  to  the  hydraulic,  hydrostatic,  and 
hydropathic,  and  all  the  hydra-headed  processes  of  scientific 
treatment  requisite  to  purify  the  system  and  make  the 
patient  clean  inside  and  out.  The  cure  is  sure  for  nearly 
all  diseases  to  which  flesh  is  heir,  but  is  specially  efficient 
in  expelling  such  monsters  as  rheumatism,  gout,  and  dys- 
pepsia. The  College  of  Health  in  Sweden,  a national  in- 


430 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


stitution,  has  the  establishment  under  its  control,  and  the 
company  that  have  taken  out  a royal  charter,  and  built 
the  bath  and  packing  houses,  have  made  provision  for 
ninety  patients,  who  are  constantly  lodged,  fed,  and  water- 
cured  at  public  expense,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  more 
are  treated  gratuitously,  with  the  use  of  the  establishment, 
while  they  pay  for  their  board  and  lodging.  Six  hundred 
patients  can  be  supplied  with  baths  at  one  time. 

The  establishment  thus  combines  the  advantages  of  a 
free  and  pav  hospital,  as  do  many  of  our  asylums  for  the 
afflicted  in  America.  But  I am  not  aware  that  any  of  our 
States  have  made  provision  for  sending  their  invalid  poor 
to  water  cures.  Our  inebriate  asylums  may  be  called  water 
cures  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term,  and  it  is  quite  certain, 
whether  intemperance  be  a sin  or  a disease,  or  both,  there 
is  no  hope  of  a cure  without  the  use  of  cold  water. 

Here  at  Soderkoping  the  rich  and  the  poor  are  so  min- 
gled and  packed  and  purified,  that  the  distinction  is  not 
palpable,  and  the  institution  is  a model  of  social  and  medi- 
cal propriety  and  equality. 

Dr.  Bottiger  is  enthusiastic  in  his  pursuit  of  the  grand 
idea  he  is  here  set  to  work  out,  and  the  patients  catch  his 
enthusiasm,  believe  in  him  and  in  the  cure,  and  that  helps 
the  cure  amazingly.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  discuss  the 
reason  of  the  thing,  or  to  inquire  whether  the  mineral 
water  here  flowing  at  least  eight  centuries,  and  probably 
eighteen  and  many  more,  is  any  better  for  the  cure  than 
other  waters.  I am  inclined  to  believe  that  there  is 
superior  virtue  in  the  springs.  But  any  waters  are  good 
enough,  with  the  advantage  of  air,  exercise,  temperance, 
and  recreation,  to  make  most  people  whole  who  are  only 
partially  broken  down.  Nine-tenths  of  these  invalids, 
especially  of  the  richer  classes,  are  victims  of  their  own 
imprudences.  God  gave  man  reason,  but  he  makes  a poor 
use,  or  rather  no  use  of  it,  when  he  works  his  brain  so 


SWEDEN. 


431 


much  as  to  overwork  it,  and  loads  his  stomach  so  as  to 
overload  it,  and  by  neglect  of  the  laws  of  health,  which  are 
just  as  well  defined  as  the  moral  laws  of  God,  brings  upon 
himself  dyspepsia,  and  that  long  catalogue  of  evils  that 
haunt  the  victim.  He  must  be  a bad  liver  who  has  a dis- 
eased liver.  It  was  his  own  fault,  in  the  first  place,  and 
the  warning  that  he  had  he  neglected,  and  now  when  he 
comes  to  Soderkoping,  or  goes  to  Kissingen,  Spa,  or  Kreus- 
nacht,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  he  is  suffering  the 
penalty  of  his  own  indulgence  or  neglect.  If  an  ante- 
mortem coroners  inquest  should  be  held  on  his  arrival  at 
the  springs,  the  verdict  would  be  served  him  right. 

There  are  six  or  eight  water-cure  establishments  in 
Sweden,  one  in  Norway,  none  in  Denmark.  The  system  is 
popular  in  this  part  of  Europe,  and  in  Germany.  Patients 
appear  to  be  attracted  to  them  not  so  much  by  advertise- 
ments of  special  advantages,  but  by  the  reports  which 
patients  spread  abroad,  when  they  go  away  relieved  of  their 
maladies. 

Just  after  the  doctor  left  us  a young  man  called  who  had 
heard  that  two  Americans  were  here,  and  he  wished  to  get 
information  respecting  the  United  States.  He  brought 
with  him  a phrase-book  in  German  and  English,  or  rather 
in  German  and  American , for  the  book  was  called  “ The 
Little  American,”  and  was  made  to  teach  the  American 
language.  The  most  it  could  do  was  to  aid  the  young  to 
pick  up  a few  phrases  of  the  language,  and  to  stimulate 
their  desire  to  emigrate  to  the  western  world.  The  book 
was  evidently  issued  by  the  steamship  or  emigration  com- 
panies, for  it  gave  all  needful  directions  as  to  the  expense 
and  mode  of  getting  to  America,  and  it  held  out  the  most 
encouraging  prospects  to  those  who  might  be  tempted  to 
go.  The  desire  is  wide-spread  — to  seek  a home  in  the  New 
World.  Books  and  papers  and  pictures  are  industriously 
spread  among  the  village  and  rural  population  to  stimulate 


432 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


this  desire.  The  wages  of  labor  are  represented  as  so  great 
in  contrast  with  their  own  earnings,  while  nothing  is  said 
of  the  cost  of  living,  — the  price  of  land  is  said  to  be  so 
low  in  comparison  with  land  here,  which  is  not  to  be  bought 
at  all,  — that  they  are  filled  with  the  idea  of  going  to  a 
country  where  they  suppose  they  may  get  all  they  want  for 
little  or  nothing.  To  what  a sad  reality  they  wake  up  when 
they  set  their  feet  on  our  shores,  and  find  themselves  in  the 
midst  of  the  harpies  of  New  York  ! 

Our  bill  for  boarding  and  lodging,  every  thing  included, 
at  this  village  tavern,  where  we  were  well  cared  for,  and  had 
all  that  we  could  reasonably  desire,  was  less  than  a dollar  a 
day  for  each  person.  Board  at  private  houses  can  be  pro- 
cured for  much  less.  And  if  you  are  not  able  to  pay  any 
thing,  and  have  the  dyspepsia,  it  is  quite  likely  that  I could 
give  you  a line  of  introduction  to  the  doctor,  who  would  put 
you  on  the  free  list,  pack  you,  duck  you,  all  but  drown  you, 
cure  you,  and  send  you  on  your  way  rejoicing,  with  refresh- 
ing memories  of  Soderkoping. 


SWEDEN. 


433 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


SWEDEN  ( Continued ). 


E went  on  board  the  canal  steamer  very  early  in  the 


morning,  and  found  the  deck  covered  with  passen- 
gers taking  their  coffee  as  comfortably  as  if  they  were  at 
home.  This  was  not  breakfast,  that  was  to  come  by  and 
by;  but  they  turned  out  early,  and  all  wanted  coffee  im- 
mediately. 

The  steamer  was  large,  adapted  to  the  canal,  the  lake, 
and  sea,  for  all  these  waters  are  to  be  ploughed  in  going 
from  Stockholm  to  Gottenburg.  One  of  the  sailors  hear- 
ing us  speaking  the  English,  addressed  us  in  the  same  lan- 
guage, for  he  had  been  in  the  British  service  until  he 
spoke  the  English  as  well  as  his  own  tongue.  Indeed,  I 
have  rarely  heard  the  English  spoken  by  a foreigner  so 
well  as  by  this  Swedish  sailor  ; yet  he  had  acquired  it 
solely  by  the  ear. 

Locks  are  now  frequent,  and  the  passage  very  slow. 
One  of  them  was  tended  by  a comely  maiden,  not  more 
than  sixteen  years  old,  dressed  neatly  with  an  embroidered 
petticoat,  which  she  had  to  expose  in  pushing  the  beam 
around  to  open  and  close  the  lock.  This  was  a novel  ap- 
plication of  female  influence,  but  not  very  pleasing,  being 
the  first  thing  I had  seen  in  Sweden  that  was  uncivilized 
and  offensive.  Lock  after  lock,  slowly  and  tediously  we 
made  our  way  through  a pretty  country,  the  fields  well 
tilled,  woods  and  green  meadows  interchanging  often,  and 
the  land  fenced  off  into  smaller  divisions  than  we  had 


28 


434 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


noticed  in  any  other  country.  The  soil  appeared  to  be 
good  from  the  abundance  of  the  growth.  The  houses 
were  neat,  and  the  out-buildings  numerous  and  well  ar- 
ranged, showing  signs  of  thrift  and  taste.  The  look  was 
that  of  a farming  people  well  to  do. 

We  enter  another  lake,  short,  but  very  pretty,  by  name 
Asplagen,  with  richly  cultivated  shores  and  sweet  homes 
nestling  among  the  trees  ; and  on  the  rising  grounds  we  see 
beautiful  pictures  of  Swedish  life,  rich  and  prosperous  res- 
idences, where  it  is  evident  that  the  good  things  of  this  life 
are  enjoyed,  and  plenty  of  them. 

An  elderly  Russian  gentleman  and  a Swedish  professor 
of  physics  in  Stockholm  were  among  the  passengers ; the 
Swede  had  travelled  in  America,  and  was  very  happy  to 
meet  an  American,  while  the  Russian  was  greatly  interested 
in  learning  of  that  wonderful  country.  He  spoke  five  lan- 
guages, and  he  said  that  his  countrymen,  if  educated  at  all, 
could  speak  both  English  and  French.  While  these  gen- 
tlemen were  my  constant  companions  on  board,  they  cor- 
dially hated  each  others  country,  the  old  antipathy  of 
Russian  and  Swede  cropping  out  continually,  and  making 
it  a difficult  task  to  keep  the  peace  between  them. 

Another  stretch  of  the  canal  brought  us  to  Lake  Roxen, 
a wide  and  beautiful  expanse,  the  passage  through  it  re- 
quiring an  hour.  At  the  western  end  of  it  is  the  town  of 
Berg,  where  a hill  is  to  be  surmounted  by  a series  of  locks, 
eleven  in  number,  opening  one  into  another,  and  the  process 
requires  so  much  time  that  we  can  leave  the  ship  and  make 
an  excursion  to  an  interesting  and  ancient  church  in  the 
neighborhood.  It  is  the  Vetra-Kloster,  Gothic  in  style,  and 
built  in  1 128,  when  Inge  II.  was  king  in  Sweden,  and  he  is 
buried  in  it.  The  Douglas  family  of  Scotland,  in  the  time 
of  Cromwell,  came  to  this  place  to  find  a safe  retreat,  and 
they  became  famous  in  the  wars  of  Sweden.  They  are  in- 
terred right  royally  in  this  sanctuary.  The  mansion  they 


SWEDEN, 


435 


occupied  stands  conspicuously  on  the  borders  of  the  beau- 
tiful lake,  commanding  splendid  views  of  this  lovely  scenery. 
Villages  are  scattered  over  a rich  country,  and  the  spires 
of  churches  pointing  heavenward  tell  the  pious  hopes  of  a 
people  whose  God  is  the  Lord.  The  church  stands  in 
the  midst  of  a large  graveyard,  and  this  is  filled  with 


Roxen  Locks. 

flowers  and  shrubs  and  shade  trees,  and  the  monumental 
stones  bear  dates  of  great  antiquity.  The  portal  of  the 
church  was  once  the  prison  of  a convent  which  was  a 
tached  to  the  church,  for  this  was  built  when  Romanism 
ruled  this  region  as  well  as  southern  Europe.  The  floor 
is  of  stone,  and  the  aisles  are  of  tombstones  bearing  in- 
scriptions in  German,  Swedish,  and  Latin ; epigrammatic 


436 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


and  striking  some  of  them  are,  and  have  silently  preached 
to  the  passer-by  for  some  centuries.  ‘'Mors  certa , kora 
incerta ,”  and  “ Hodie  mi  hi,  eras  tibi,”  are  not  very  senten- 
tious, but  they  have  their  point  on  a gravestone. 

In  a stone  sarcophagus  of  very  singular  form,  with  a long 
inscription  upon  it,  lies  the  body  of  Inge  II. ; wooden 
effigies  of  unknown  personages,  divine  or  human  alike  un- 
intelligible to  me,  keep  the  dead  monarch  company  in  his 
sleep  of  the  ages.  Another  chapel  contains  two  sarcophagi, 
in  which  side  by  side  through  successive  centuries  the 
royal  ashes  rest  of  those  whose  names  are  now  forgotten,  but 
might  be  spelled  out,  if  it  were  worth  the  trouble.  And  in 
another  chapel  are  the  tombs  of  the  Scotch  Douglases,  who 
fled  their  own  country  and  found  glory  and  graves,  that’s 
all,  in  this  retired  spot  in  the  heart  of  Sweden.  For  this 
is  purely  a rural  church,  far  from  the  town  and  all  the 
busy  haunts  of  men,  a fitting  place  for  worship,  and  a 
comely  spot  for  graves.  It  has  been  used  for  both,  more 
than  seven  hundred  years.  The  avarice  of  man  has  not 
encroached  upon  its  acres,  nor  coveted. its  stones. 

Returning  from  our  excursion,  we  heard  the  sound  of 
children’s  voices,  and  were  led  to  a neat  school-house  in  a 
pleasant  enclosure,  retired  from  the  street,  and  being  in 
the  pursuit  of  knowledge  we  turned  in  to  see  and  hear. 
About  fifty  children  were  receiving  instruction  from  a mas- 
ter, who  courteously  bade  us  enter,  and  proceeded  with  his 
work.  All  the  scholars,  and  they  were  of  both  sexes,  were 
standing,  and  reading  in  concert  from  a history  of  Sweden. 
The  reading  being  finished,  the  teacher  put  questions  to 
them  on  the  portion  they  had  read,  which  they  answered 
promptly,  and  showed  lively  interest  in  the  lesson.  Around 
the  walls  were  suspended  maps  of  the  world  and  of  the 
several  countries,  and  there  were  black-boards  and  all  need- 
ful appliances,  such  as  would  belong  to  a well  appointed 
school.  In  the  Universal  Exhibition  at  Paris  I had  seen  a 


SWEDEN. 


437 


Swedish  school-house  with  its  furniture,  &c.,  and  had  re- 
marked that  no  country  made  a better  exhibition  of  the 
apparatus  for  educating  children  than  Sweden. 

Returning  from  the  visit  to  the  Vetra-Kloster,  and  its 
graves  of  the  kings  and  the  Douglases,  we  found  that  the 
boat  had  made  its  way  through  the  eleven  locks  and  was 
once  more  fairly  launched  on  the  peaceful  bosom  of  the 
grand  canal.  It  was  the  hour  for  dining,  and  the  table 
was  spread  on  deck,  awnings  overhead  and  at  the  sides  to 
shelter  us  from  the  cool  wind  while  eating.  The  Swedish 
dinner,  even  on  a canal-boat,  was  good,  preceded  by  the  in- 
evitable schnapps  and  radishes  and  other  appetizers,  and 
followed  by  a tolerable  soup,  fine  fish,  veal,  puddings,  and 
various  trimmings  needless  to  mention.  I give  you  the 
bill  of  fare  merely  to  show  that  there  is  enough  to  eat  all 
the  world  over,  and  that  you  are  not  likely  to  suffer  for 
want  of  comfortable  food,  even  on  a canal  in  the  heart  of 
Sweden. 

We  pass  through  many  villages,  each  with  its  venerable 
church,  and  houses  shaded  with  overhanging  trees,  farms 
well  tilled,  and  now  smiling  with  growing  harvests  and 
heavy  clover.  I saw  no  Indian  corn,  though  I looked  for  it 
often.  Probably  the  warm  weather  is  too  short-lived  for 
the  crop  to  ripen.  No  women  were  working  in  the  fields. 
But  we  came  to  a drawbridge,  and  whistling  for  some 
one  to  open  it,  a woman  ran  from  her  house  with  the  lever 
in  her  hand,  ground  away  as  for  dear  life,  and  by  the  time 
we  reached  it  the  draw  was  open  for  us  to  pass  through. 
The  poor  woman  was  exhausted  by  the  severe  exertion,  her 
lips  were  white  as  snow,  and  she  looked  ready  to  faint  as 
we  glided  by  her,  and  the  pilot  gave  her  a caution  to  keep  a 
better  lookout  next  time. 

And  now  we  cross  another  lake,  Boren  by  name,  the 
most  beautiful  of  any  we  have  yet  seen.  This  frequent 
change  from  the  monotony  of  the  canal  to  the  lovely 


438 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


scenery  of  these  lakes,  imparts  a charm  to  the  journey 
across  the  country  which  we  did  not  anticipate.  We  now 
come  to  Motala,  where  the  greatest  Swedish  iron-works  are 
located.  An  English  company  has  possession  of  one  of 
the  most  valuable  iron-mines,  and  the  Swedish  government 
has  set  up  a vast  establishment  here  for  the  building  of  loco- 
motives, iron-clad  steamers,  monitors,  & c.,  which  are  said 
to  be  equal  to  any  that  are  made  in  the  world.  The  boat 
had  to  lie  here  for  freight  long  enough  for  us  to  go  through 
all  the  works,  which  were  freely  open  to  our  inspection. 

We  enter  Lake  Wetter,  one  of  the  largest  lakes  in  Eu- 
rope. We  are  soon  out  at  sea,  at  least  so  far  that  we 
cannot  see  the  land.  It  is  very  rough,  with  high  wind. 
One  of  the  sailors  assured  me  that  old  salts,  for  whom 
the  ocean  itself  had  no  terrors,  are  sometimes  made  sick 
by  the  pitch  and  toss  of  Lake  Wetter.  We  touch  at  Wad- 
stena,  a large  town  from  which  our  good  ship  takes  its 
name  : a place  of  great  importance  in  the  commerce  of  the 
country,  with  shops  on  the  docks,  like  those  of  a seaport. 
What  I supposed  were  bags  of  grain,  lying  in  great  heaps 
to  be  taken  on  board,  proved  to  be  dried  peas,  and  they, 
with  beans,  must  be  largely  grown  in  these  parts.  In  the 
suburbs  of  the  place  were  elegant  residences,  with  fine 
parks  and  beautiful  gardens,  old  and  wide-spreading  trees, 
flower-beds  and  ornamental  shrubbery,  some  of  them  evi- 
dently public  resorts  for  the  people,  and  others  the  ap- 
pendages of  private  residences.  Wealth,  culture,  and 
enjoyment  were  thus  revealed,  and  I had  that  pleasure 
which  so  often  greets  me  in  travel,  — the  consciousness 
that  a new  and  strange  people,  whom  I shall  probably 
never  see  again,  are  taking  just  as  much  comfort  in  life, 
and  working  out  the  ends  of  living  just  as  well  as  the  in- 
habitants of  other  lands  with  whom  we  are  more  familiar. 
The  Swedish  peasantry  live  well,  generally,  and  are  not 
exposed  to  the  evils  of  want,  as  the  hard-working  classes 


SWEDEN. 


439 


in  Poland  and  Russia.  Labor  is  cheap,  and  provisions  are 
cheap  also.  The  houses  of  the  well-to-do  people  are  often 
made  with  double  windows  ; they  are  rarely  more  than  one 
story  high,  the  ceilings  are  low,  and  thus  they  are  more 
readily  kept  warm  in  winter.  Indeed,  I am  assured  that 
the  inhabitants  in  these  northern  countries,  including  Rus- 
sia, often  suffer  more  from  heat  than,  cold  in  their  houses 
during  the  severe  weather  of  their  cold  season.  Educa- 
tion is  generally  diffused  in  Sweden,  nearly  all  being  able 
to  read  and  write ; and,  taken  as  a whole,  the  people  being 
moral,  industrious,  frugal,  and  contented,  what  could  they 
have  more  ? 

The  captain  came  to  my  cabin,  where  I was  writing,  and 
asked  me  on  deck  to  see  the  sunset  and  the  loveliest  view 
as  we  approached  the  village  of  Forsvik.  It  stands  at  the 
head  of  a small  lake,  and  is  embosomed  with  field  and 
forest  — a sweet  picture  ; the  manor-house,  whose  owner  is 
also  at  the  head  of  the  iron-works,  is  large  and  elegant. 
Here  we  pass  into  the  canal  again,  and  through  a dense 
forest,  the  banks  of  the  canal  being  bold  and  rock-bound, 
and  we  just  graze  them  as  we  pass ; indeed,  we  seem  to 
be  more  on  land  than  water  ; and  in  fifteen  minutes  we 
have  cut  through  the  woods,  and  rush  out  into  another 
lake,  coming  soon  to  the  highest  level  between  the  two 
seas.  We  are  three  hundred  and  twenty  feet  above  the 
sea  level,  all  of  which  has  been  surmounted  by  locks,  and 
now  we  must  begin  the  descent  by  the  same  means,  seventy- 
five  locks  in  all  being  required  to  take  us  up  from  one  sea, 
on  one  side  of  Sweden,  and  set  us  down  in  another  sea,  on 
the  other  side. 

The  evening  had  been  delicious  on  deck,  but  as  it  drew 
nigh  to  midnight,  I would  turn  in.  My  companion  for  the 
night  was  the  Russian  gentleman  whose  friendship  I had 
secured  during  the  day.  His  long,  white  beard  had  com- 
manded my  respect.  He  had  asked  me  innumerable  ques- 


440 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


tions  of  my  country  and  myself,  all  of  which  I had  answered 
to  the  best  of  my  ability.  He  had  learned  my  name, — 
which  he  pronounced  Preem,  as  all  the  continental  Euro- 
peans do,  — and  somewhat  of  my  profession,  and  he  de- 
termined to  do  the  polite  thing,  and  in  English  too,  before 
going  into  retirement  for  the  night.  His  berth  was  on  one 
side  of  the  little  cabin,  mine  on  the  other.  We  could  shake 
hands  across,  but  we  did  not.  He  arrayed  himself  in  his  robes 
of  the  night : a red  night-cap  surmounted  his  head,  making 
a fiery  contrast  with  his  snow-white  beard.  Sitting  up  on 
his  couch,  he  addressed  me  with  great  dignity  and  form- 
ality : “ My  Reverend  Preem,  I wish  you  good-night,”  and 
subsided  into  the  pillow. 

In  the  course  of  the  night  we  steamed  out  of  the  canal 
into  Lake  Wenner,  the  largest  in  Sweden,  and  the  third  in 
size  of  all  the  lakes  in  Europe.  Even  in  bed  we  could  per- 
ceive that  we  were  at  sea,  for  the  roll  of  the  ship  was  as  if 
we  were  on  the  Mediterranean.  But  we  made  the  most  of 
the  passage  before  morning,  and  touched  the  next  day  at 
Johkoping,  one  of  the  most  important  inland  towns  in  the 
kingdom. 

This  Lake  Wenner  abounds  in  trout,  and  to  catch  them 
of  the  modest  weight  of  forty  pounds  is  nothing  remarkable. 
It  would  have  been  remarked,  however,  if  we  had  had  the 
luck  to  catch  one  of  that  weight,  or  any  thing  like  it. 

A Swedish  ship-captain  entertained  me  with  stories  of  his 
life  on  this  canal,  with  vessels  worked  by  sails,  pulled  by 
man,  and  sometimes  bullock  power,  creeping  cautiously 
through  the  lakes,  and  running  in  shore  whenever  the  wind 
was  up.  He  said  that  he  had  lived  all  his  days  in  this  way. 
and  was  now  taking  his  ease.  All  day,  as  we  were  making 
our  way  slowly  along,  we  had  been  hearing  the  praises 
sounded  of  the  Falls  of  Trollhatten,  which  we  were  to  reach 
in  the  afternoon.  The  scenery  had  been  improving,  rising 
sometimes  into  the  grand,  and  always  picturesque  and 


SWEDEN. 


441 


pleasing,  as  we  passed  well-tilled  farms  and  the  abodes  of 
prosperous  peasants.  A range  of  locks  must  be  worried 
through  to  get  by  the  Falls,  and  this  gives  us  the  time  we 
want,  to  see  and  enjoy  one  of  the  finest  cataracts  in  Europe  ! 
You  know  they  have  nothing  very  great  in  that  line.  I have 
seen  them  all,  and  written  them  up  as  much  as  they  would 
bear,  but  they  do  not  amount  to  any  thing  very  wonderful, 
nothing  indeed  to  be  compared  with  ours.  We  have  half  a 
dozen  falls  that  would  outleap  and  outroar  all  theirs,  and  we 
must  praise  them  as  an  off-set  to  their  palaces  and  pictures 
and  stone  women.  They  have  marvels  of  art ; we,  wonders 
of  nature,  especially  Niagara.  Foreigners  enjoy  a descrip- 
tion of  Niagara  by  one  who  has  seen  it  more  than  to  hear 
of  any  thing  else  in  America.  But  they  have  often  been 
sullenly  incredulous  when  I have  assured  them  that  a mighty 
river,  with  the  water  of  half  a dozen  inland  seas,  gathers 
itself  within  banks  a mile  asunder,  and  then  makes  one 
prodigious  plunge  over  a precipice  150  feet  deep,  into  an 
unfathomed  gulf ! 

Trollhatten  does  not  attempt  such  a feat.  But  the  river 
is  caught  among  a mass  of  rocks  in  a narrow  gorge,  just 
where  the  mountains  break  down  to  the  valley,  and  the 
stream  comes  roaring,  tumbling,  foaming,  rushing  head- 
long with  power,  fury,  madness,  indescribable.  Water  in 
motion  is  always  beautiful,  and  when  a mighty  volume  of  it 
is  struggling  with  resisting  forces,  tearing  its  way  over  and 
down  the  jagged  rocks,  and  among  the  green  trees  of  over- 
hanging precipices,  what  is  beautiful  becomes  sublime  and 
fearful,  and  admiration  rises  into  awe.  In  one  place  the 
rocks  have  been  actually  cut  away  by  art  to  allow  the  pas- 
sage of  the  water  for  use,  and  then  the  torrent  leaps  seventy 
feet  at  one  bound  into  a frightful  abyss.  One  lofty  rock, 
with  a broad,  smooth  face,  like  a great  tablet,  is  inscribed 
with  the  names  of  kings,  and  the  dates  of  their  visit  to  this 
romantic  and  interesting  spot. 


442 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


We  are  now  to  take  the  river.  The  canal  is  at  an  end  for 
us.  Already  we  have  a taste  of  more  exciting  navigation. 
To  get  the  steamer  into  the  river  the  sailors  are  working 
away  as  if  for  dear  life.  One  poor  fellow  is  caught  by  the 
leg  in  a hawser-line,  carried  overboard,  and  when  brought 
on  deck  is  found  to  have  one  of  his  legs  broken.  It  was  a 
sad  termination  to  our  pleasure  excursion  of  three  days. 
We  had  been  brought  into  such  constant  intercourse  with 
the  men  that  we  knew  them  all,  and  felt  a personal  interest 
in  the  poor  seaman  now  stretched  helpless  on  the  deck.  He 
was  carried  to  the  forecastle,  and  put  away  to  be  taken  to 
the  hospital  at  Gottenburg,  but  we  could  not  put  him  out  of 
mind  so  easily.  After  the  excitement  was  over,  I asked  the 
captain  what  the  owners  would  do  for  a sailor  thus  injured 
in  their  service,  and  learned  that  they  would  pay  his  hospital 
charges,  and  nothing  more ; in  the  mean  time,  while  he  was* 
getting  well,  his  family  must  look  out  for  themselves.  I 
then  proposed  to  the  captain  and  the  Swedish  professor  that 
we  should  take  up  a collection  among  the  passengers  to  help 
the  man’s  family  in  their  want.  To  my- surprise,  they  said 
it  was  a thing  unknown  among  them,  and  would  not  meet 
with  any  favor  if  attempted.  They  regarded  the  idea  as 
quite  fanciful  and  preposterous.  Well,  I said,  “In  my 
country  the  passengers  would  do  it ; if  you  will  interpret 
for  me  I will  make  a little  speech,  and  you  will  see  that 
they  will  not  only  give,  but  be  greatly  pleased  with  the  op- 
portunity of  doing  something.”  The  professor  consented 
to  be  the  interpreter,  and  we  called  the  passengers  together. 

I told  them  that  “two  or  three  Americans  travelling  with 
them  through  their  beautiful  and  interesting  country  had 
greatly  enjoyed  the  pleasant  voyage  of  the  last  few  days  ; 
but  its  pleasure  had  been  marred  by  the  sad  accident  that 
had  just  occurred  to  one  engaged  in  our  service.  Though 
he  was  unknown  to  us,  he  was  a man  and  a brother,  and  in 
the  country  from  which  I came,  when  such  an  event  took 


SWEDEN. 


443 


place,  we  were  in  the  habit  of  showing  our  sympathy  for 
the  injured  by  giving  him  money  to  lighten  the  calamity 
that  had  befallen  him.  You  would  gladly  do  so  if  you  were 
permitted,  and  we  propose  to  go  around  with  a hat  and  let 
every  one  who  is  disposed  contribute  what  he  or  she  is 
pleased  to  give.”  The  professor  turned  the  speech  into 
Swedish,  or  at  least  said  as  much  in  that  tongue,  probably 
more  and  better.  I could  not  understand  a word  ; but  his 
remarks  were  received  with  lively  applause,  and  at  his  allu- 
sions to  the  Americans  I nodded  most  intelligently,  taking 
it  for  granted  that  he  was  saying  something  complimentary. 
We  then  received  the  gifts,  and  I believe  that  every  pas- 
senger, male  and  female,  gave  something,  and  with  a cheer- 
fulness beautiful  to  observe. 

A lone  tower,  rising  above  a mass  of  ruins,  with  a single 
wall  surmounted  by  a heap  of  stones,  strikingly  resembling 
a huge  lion,  is  all  that  remains  of  Hongfel,  one  of  the  most 
extensive  of  the  old-time  castles  of  Sweden.  Here  the 
river  divides  into  two.  We  enter  the  left  branch,  passing 
near  a fertile  island ; and,  as  the  sun  is  going  down  behind  a 
bank  of  threatening  clouds,  the  city  of  Gottenburg,  a sea- 
port on  the  German  ocean,  rises  upon  our  view  with  com- 
manding beauty  as  we  approach,  and  see  the  towers  of  its 
churches  and  the  roofs  of  its  principal  buildings  glistening 
in  the  last  rays  of  the  summer’s  setting  sun.  The  harbor 
is  well  protected,  and  the  forest  of  masts  presented  all  the 
appearances  of  a busy  seaport.  The  usual  crowd  was  on 
the  wharf  as  our  boat  came  to,  but  perfect  order  prevailed. 
No  rush  was  made  for  baggage  or  passengers,  but  each  one 
waited  to  be  called  for,  — a model  of  good  breeding  that 
might  be  shown  to  advantage  in  the  wilds  of  western  civi- 
lization. Those  of  us  who  had  become  well  acquainted  in 
three  days’  companionship  now  shook  hands  and  bade  each 
other  farewell  in  our  several  tongues,  the  broken-legged 
sailor  not  being  forgotten,  as  he  lay  in  his  bunk  waiting  to 


444 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


be  taken  to  the  hospital.  We  were  soon  distributed  in  our 
several  directions,  and  parted,  perhaps  not  to  meet  again, 
certainly  not  all  of  us,  in  this  world. 

It  will  give  you  an  idea  of  the  prices  that  rule  in  this 
country  if  I tell  you  that  at  the  wharf  we  stepped  into  a 
carriage  with  two  horses,  our  luggage  was  put  on,  we  were 
driven  to  the  hotel  Gotha  Kallare , the  luggage  was  taken 
up  to  the  chambers,  and  the  price  for  the  whole  service  was 
less  than  fifty  cents  of  our  money.  Sweden  still  bears  the 
palm  of  ' cheapness  over  all  the  countries  I have  seen. 

Gottenburg  proved  to  be  an  interesting  place,  though 
noted  more  for  its  commerce  with  Britain  and  America  than 
for  any  thing  else.  The  Merchants’  Exchange  is  a model  in 
its  way,  combining  a hall,  and  rooms  for  social  entertain- 
ments, concerts,  &c.,  which  are  managed  by  municipal 
authority.  A museum  of  antiquities,  illustrating  the  his- 
tory and  condition  of  the  country,  is  well  arranged,  and 
would  profitably  detain  the  traveller  a day  or  two  to  study 
it.  The  paintings  are  also  interesting,  where  they  preserve 
the  memory  of  men  and  things  belonging  to  Sweden,  and 
of  these  there  were  many.  The  landlord  of  our  hotel  hav- 
ing learned  from  some  of  the  Americans  in  our  party  that  I 
was  connected  with  the  press,  took  pains  to  bring  me  into 
contact  with  my  brethren  of  that  fraternity  in  Gottenburg. 
Mr.  Rubenson  called  and  led  me  to  the  office  of  the  Daily 
News , a paper  devoted  chiefly  to  the  interests  of  merchants 
and  sailors.  I went  through  their  press-rooms,  composing 
and  editorial  apartments,  and  found  them  remarkably  like 
those  I was  quite  familiar  with  at  home.  This  paper  has  a 
circulation  of  8,000  daily,  and  on  Saturday  is  published  an 
edition  of  3,000  extra,  because  on  that  day  the  poorer 
classes  buy  a paper  for  Sunday  reading. 

Mr.  Rubenson  took  me  to  visit  an  institution  the  like  of 
which  I never  heard  of  in  any  other  city,  and  yet  so  useful 
in  its  object  and  result,  that  I had  great  satisfaction  in 


SWEDEN. 


445 


visiting  it.  I am  very  anxious  to  have  it  known  to  the 
ladies  of  my  own  afflicted  land.  It  was  established  by  the 
energetic  benevolence  of  one  of  the  ladies  of  the  city,  who 
succeeded  in  getting  a building  specially  erected  and  fitted 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  young  women  instruction  and 
practice  in  the  arts  of  domestic  life. 

Impelled  by  a desire  to  benefit  both  the  servant  and  the 
mistress,  by  improving  the  qualities  of  the  one,  and  adding 
thus  to  the  comfort  of  the  other,  this  Swedish  lady,  with 
charity  equal  to  her  countrywoman  Jenny  Lind,  or  Fredrika 
Bremer,  established  this  school.  Girls  of  good  moral  char- 
acter, who  wish  to  go  out  to  service,  are  received,  and,  under 
the  direction  of  a competent  matron,  are  made  adepts  in 
the  sublime  mysteries  of  the  kitchen  and  laundry.  The 
establishment  takes  in  washing  and  baking  and  cooking  for 
private  families,  hotels,  and  restaurants,  and  the  money  thus 
earned  goes  far  toward  paying  the  current  expenses.  The 
girls  are  taught  to  put  their  hands  to  every  thing  that  must 
be  done  in  the  household.  By  turns  they  wait  upon  table, 
and  the  matron  is  at  its  head  to  give  instruction,  that  they 
may  become  expert  in  serving  the  dinner  as  well  as  in  cook- 
ing it,  and  those  who  sit  at  table  may  also  learn  to  be 
decent  in  eating  it. 

And  it  was  pleasant  to  learn  that  admission  to  this  train- 
ing-house is  regarded  as  a great  privilege.  It  is  even  se- 
cured as  a reward  for  proficiency  in  the  free  schools  ; so 
that  a young  woman  who  has  distinguished  herself  for  good 
conduct  in  school,  is  entitled  to  still  further  education  in 
this  house  as  a reward  of  merit.  These  young  women  are 
in  constant  demand  by  families,  who  are  ready  to  pay  them 
higher  wages,  because  they  are  graduates  of  a training- 
school  where  they  have  learned  the  theory  and  practice  of 
household  labor. 

One  of  the  greatest  enjoyments  of  wanderings  in  foreign 
lands  has  been  found  in  the  discovery  that  there  are  good 


446 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


people  all  over  the  world ; that  they  are  toiling  and  praying 
for  the  good  of  their’  fellow-creatures,  trying  to  make 
society  better,  the  burden  of  the  poor  more  easy  to  be 
borne,  and  this  by  helping  them  to  help  themselves.  The 
future  of  these  northern  countries  is  more  hopeful  because 
of  the  enlightened  philanthropy  of  such  as-  the  friends  I 
have  just  met. 


NORWAY. 


447 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

NORWAY. 

T TP  in  this  part  of  the  world  you  must  be  very  careful 
^ to  look  out  for  yourself,  in  all  matters  that  require 
certainty  as  to  times  and  ways  of  travel.  It  was  hard  to 
learn  when  a steamer  would  go  north  from  Gottenburg,  and 
all  that  we  did  learn  from  captains  and  porters  and  land- 
lords proved  to  be  erroneous.  But  at  last  it  was  settled 
that  a boat  would  be  along  the  next  morning  from  Copen- 
hagen, bound  to  Christiania,  and  if  we  were  at  the 
wharf  at  four  A.m.  we  could  go ! We  were  called  at 
three,  and  it  was  just  as  light  as  noonday.  The  luggage 
was  taken  by  hand-carts,  and  the  travellers,  a goodly  com- 
pany, trudged  to  the  wharf,  a sleepy,  grumbling  set  of 
Americans,  who  were  sore  vexed  at  being  waked  so  early ; 
four  families,  who  met  at  Gottenburg,  and  were  now  em- 
barking on  the  German  Ocean  to  visit  Norway.  We  suf- 
fered on  deck  from  the  cold,  and  were  obliged  to  seek 
shelter  in  the  cabin,  but  every  berth,  settee,  chair,  and  peg, 
were  occupied,  so  great  was  the  crowd  of  passengers  on 
the  Viking  to-day.  Breakfast  was  served  early,  beginning 
with  Norwegian  cheese,  quite  equal  to  basswood,  followed 
by  eggs,  carviar,  beefsteaks,  salt  fish,  and  other  things,  and 
by  the  time  this  was  over,  the  day  was  fairly  opened  ; one 
c5f  the  brightest  and  most  beautiful,  with  its  cool,  bracing, 
stimulating  air,  that  we  had  ever  seen.  The  Skager-rack 
(we  had  been  familiar  with  the  Skager-rack  and  Cattegat 
in  the  geography  from  school-days)  stretched  away  to  the 
horizon,  seemingly  to  our  own  loved  land  in  the  west. 


443 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


At  Freidericksvern  we  landed  a large  number  of  our 
passengers.  This  is  a naval  station,  and  the  residence  of 
officers  with  their  families.  The  hills  about  the  picturesque 
town  are  attractive  to  the  mineralogist,  and  the  “ crystals  of 
shining  feldspar  are  seen  at  a distance.”  I did  not  see 
them.  Entering  a bay,  and  keeping  near  to  the  rock- 
bound  coast,  we  steamed  up  a river  for  several  hours, 
touched  at  Moss,  crossed  over  to  Hosten,  a great  naval 
station,  and  found  a host  of  people  on  the  wharf,  to  wait 
the  steamer’s  arrival.  Here  the  fiord,  or  bay,  divides  into 
two,  one  leading  to  Dremmen,  and  the  other,  which  we 
pursue,  to  Christiania,  the  capital  of  Norway.  The  moun- 
tains on  the  left  are  bold  ; sometimes  lofty  perpendicular 
rocks  rise  from  the  water.  The  sight  is  striking,  grand 
indeed.  Night  approaches,  but  not  darkness.  It  is  nine, 
ten,  eleven  o’clock,  and  still  the  daylight  lingers.  At  mid- 
night we  arrived  at  our  destined  port.  We  have  been  steam- 
ing almost  due  north  twenty  hours.  Our  baggage  must  be 
searched,  for  Norway  has  its  own  customs,  though  under  the 
same  crown  with  Sweden.  But  the  search  was  slight  and 
soon  over.  Perhaps  you  will  be  as  much  surprised  to  hear 
as  I was  to  see  that  the  city  of  Christiania  is  so  much  like 
other  cities  ; if  I had  awoke  out  of  sleep  and  found  myself 
in  it,  I would  not  have  supposed  myself  in  the  northern- 
most kingdom  of  Europe,  and  on  the  confines  of  the  frozen 
zone.  It  has  indeed  a frigid  look,  a barrenness  of  ornament, 
a precise,  severe,  and  perfectly  plain  style  of  building,  if 
that  may  be  called  a style  which  is  no  style  at  all.  But 
there  is  nothing  about  it  to  excite  observation,  except  it  be 
that  it  is  more  of  a city,  with  greater  attractions  in  objects 
of  interest  to  visit,  than  one  would  look  for  in  Norway. 

The  house  at  which  I am  stopping,  Hotel  du  Nord,  has 
rooms  for  two.  hundred  guests  ; it  is  a hollow  square,  with 
a balcony  on  the  four  sides  of  the  quadrangular  court 
within,  and  each  room  on  the  balcony  has  a door  opening 


NORWAY. 


449 


upon  it.  On  the  piazza  of  the  central  building  is  a plat- 
form covered  with  awning,  and  surrounded  with  shrubs  and 
flowers,  with  a fountain  of  water  playing  in  the  midst.  I 
find  in  these  hyperborean  regions  the  people  take  pains  to 
adorn  their  houses  with  plants  and  blooming  flowers,  to 
cheat  themselves  with  the  pleasing  delusion  that  they  are 
just  as  well  off  as  those  who  dwell  in  more  genial  climes. 
This  is  true  of  the  dwellers  in  the  cities,  and  in  the  rural 
villages  also,  where  I have  noticed  that  windows  are  filled 
with  plants  exposed  to  the  sun  and  the  passer’s  eye. 

The  stove  in  my  room  is  of  cast  iron,  and  wood  is  the 
fuel.  As  it  is  now  midsummer  (July  6),  we  do  not  intend 
to  use  it,  but  it  is  a curiosity.  It  is  four  stories  high,  the 
lower  one  for  the  fuel,  and  the  others  are  chambers  to  hold 
dishes  for  warming,  and  also  to  increase  the  surface  for 
radiation  of  heat.  We  enjoy  the  sight  of  it,  hoping  that  in 
the  dreadful  weather  to  come  some  of  our  successors  may 
enjoy  the  heat  thereof. 

This  morning  we  took  our  first  breakfast  in  Norway,  and, 
according  to  our  usual  custom  of  giving  you  a bill  of  fare 
in  each  country,  to  let  you  know  how  we  live  in  strange 
lands,  I will  just  mention  that  we  had  for  our  simple  repast 
coffee,  cold  lobster,  beefsteak,  ham,  tongue,  corned  beef, 
fried  sole,  boiled  salmon,  herring,  with  bread,  butter,  cheese, 
strawberries,  and  all  other  things  needed  to  make  out  a 
meal. 

The  city  has  about  fifty  thousand  people  in  it,  and  makes 
progress  very  slowly.  It  has  a palace,  which  I positively 
did  not  visit,  having  made  a resolution  not  to  be  tempted 
to  go  through  any  more,  and  a museum,  which  greatly 
entertained  me  for  an  hour  or  two. 

In  these  Scandinavian  countries  (meaning  Sweden,  Nor- 
way, and  Denmark),  they  are  very  curious  to  discover  and 
to  preserve  all  remnants  of  the  heathen  worship  of  Odin 
which  once  prevailed,  and  this  museum  has  some  very 

29 


450 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


precious  relics  of  that  dead  past.  A massive  gold  collar, 
and  various  ornaments,  which  were  found  buried  in  the 
earth,  are  very  naturally  referred  to  the  days  of  idolatry, 
when  they  adorned  a statue  of  Odin.  And  I am  more 
and  more  convinced  that  to  this  day  there  is  a lurking 
reverence  among  the  ignorant  peasantry  for  the  deity  of 
those  old-time  heroes,  whom  their  fathers  worshipped.  So 
prone  is  human  nature  to  superstition,  and  so  hard  is  it  to 
blot  out  of  the  popular  mind  and  heart  those  ideas  which, 
even  in  remote  generations,  got  firm  hold. 

Another  very  remarkable  memorial  of  past  times  and 
customs  treasured  in  the  museum  is  the  girdle  and  the 
knives  which  the  gentlemen  of  Norway  used  in  the  good 
old  days,  now  lost,  when  they  pitched  into  one  another  in 
duels.  First,  each  one  of  the  combatants  took  a butcher- 
knife  (we  call  them  bowie-knives  now),  and  plunged  it  as 
deep  as  he  could  into  a block  of  wood.  The  blade,  so  much 
as  was  not  in  the  wood,  was  then  wound  round  tight  with 
strips  of  leather,  and  the  knives  were  cautiously  drawn 
out,  and  each  man  took  his  own.  It  therefore  had  now  a 
longer  or  shorter  point,  according  to  the  strength  he  had  to 
plunge  it  into  the  wood.  Their  girdles  were  then  fastened 
together,  so  that  they  could  not  get  away  from  one  another. 
Now  they  went  at  it  hip  and  thigh,  cut  and  slash,  till  one 
or  both  were  killed.  If  modern  duellists  were  put  to  such 
tests  of  strength  and  courage,  there  would  be  few  chal- 
lenges. 

Much  more  pleasant  to  look  upon,  and  a memento  of  a 
very  curious  and  perhaps  a pleasing  custom,  which,  how- 
ever, is  not  of  the  by-gone  times,  but  still  common  in  Scan- 
dinavia, at  least  in  the  Bergen  district,  is  the  crown  and 
girdle  and  frontlet  worn  by  the  bride  on  the  wedding  day. 
But  all  brides  are  not  allowed  to  wear  such  ornaments  as 
these : only  brides  who  have  been  good  girls  all  the  time 
before.  If  they  have  been  naughty,  they  must  be  married 


NORWAY. 


451 


without  these  distinctions,  and  we  may  well  believe  that 
they  are  therefore  very  highly  esteemed  among  young 
women  in  the  north  country.  It  seems  to  intimate,  also, 
that  it  is  not  altogether  a rare  thing  for  a bride  to  be  de- 
prived of  the  privilege  of  being  thus  distinguished,  for  it  is 
hardly  possible  that  such  a state  of  society  can  exist  any- 
where as  to  have  an  advertisement  made  at  a wedding 
that  a bride  is  no  better  than  she  should  be.  But  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  world  are  very  queer  to  the 
notions  of  those  whose  manners  and  customs  are  very 
different,  and  in  no  part  of  domestic  life  are  these  habits 
so  monstrously  diverse  as  in  the  matter  of  wedding  cere- 
monies. 

While  wandering  through  the  museum  I found  that  the 
collection  of  heathen  relics  was  comparatively  small.  They 
are  often  found  by  the  peasants  in  their  tillage  of  the  land, 
but  they  keep  them  secret  and  sacred,  attaching  peculiar 
value  to  them  as  charms  and  medicines,  averting  evil  and 
healing  diseases.  So  powerful  still  is  this  hereditary  heath- 
enism in  the  vulgar  mind. 

The  university  is  beautifully  situated,  and  handsomely 
appointed  for  the  instruction  of  about  a thousand  students, 
that  great  number  flocking  here  to  enjoy  the  lectures  of  its 
distinguished  professors.  But  Norway  has  done  very  little 
for  science  or  literature,  though  such  names  as  Holberg 
and  Wessel  are  well  known  abroad.  The  men  of  learning 
in  Norway  generally  publish  their  writings  in  the  German 
language,  to  find  readers.  Norway  would  furnish  a limited 
field.  Education  is  general,  and  it  is  rare  to  find  a person 
who  cannot  read  and  write.  Nearly  every  town  has  its 
newspaper,  and  at  the  capital  there  are  reviews  and  maga- 
zines which  evince  learning  and  ability. 

In  the  afternoon  we  set  off  to  go  by  rail  and  boat  a 
hundred  miles  into  the  interior,  to  spend  the  sabbath  among 
the  natives  in  the  heart  of  the  country.  Going  north  from 


45^  ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 

Christiania  we  found  the  scenery  tame,  but  cheerful,  as  we 
passed  among  well-tilled  farms,  through  small  villages,  with 
low  but  comfortable  houses,  and  in  each  village  a neat 
church,  which  told  us,  as  we  rode  by,  of  two  good  things, 
first,  that  the  people  were  Christians,  and,  secondly,  that 
they  were  not  split  up  into  sects.  Long  may  it  be  before  a 
little  village  in  Norway,  with  five  hundred  inhabitants,  shall 
require  five  places  of  worship  ! Now  and  then  in  the  open 
country  a white  mansion  gave  evidence  of  wealth  and  taste. 
A stream  of  water  and  frequent  ponds,  with  saw-mills,  rafts 
of  logs  and  piles  of  lumber,  showed  the  staple  of  this 
region  ; and  we  saw  forests  of  fir,  pine,  spruce,  and  birch, 
the  hardy  natives  of  the  North.  Occasionally  we  caught 
fine  views  of  distant  hills,  with  long  intervals  of  field  and 
forest  and  villages. 

At  Eidsvold  we  came  to  Lake  Mjosen.  You  can’t  pro- 
nounce the  name  of  the  lake  ? Well,  you  must  do  as  well 
as  you  can.  The  lake  is  a beautiful  expanse  of  water 
sixty  miles  long,  four  or  five  wide,  full  of  salmon  and  trout, 
and  navigated  by  steamers,  on  one  of  which  we  are  speedily 
embarked.  The  company  is  a*  curious  mixture.  Three  or 
four  American  families,  some  English,  many  natives,  and 
all  social  and  friendly,  for  they  are  beyond  the  restraints  of 
society,  and  are  willing  to  give  and  take,  as  people  should 
be,  but  are  not,  all  the  world  over.  We  do  not  know  how 
many  kind-hearted  neighbors  we  have  in  travel  or  at  home 
until  we  break  our  respective  shells  and  speak  out. 

The  English  commercial  traveller  is  everywhere,  and,  of 
course,  was  on  this  boat.  He  is  altogether  ahead  of  the 
smartest,  cutest,  and  most  inquisitive  Yankee.  He  will  ask 
more  questions  and  tell  you  more  of  his  business  than  our 
communicative  countrymen  are  disposed  to  mention.  One 
of  them  was  near  me  this  afternoon ; he  was  on  his  annual 
excursion  among  the  inland  towns  of  Norway,  to  get  orders 
for  his  employer’s  house  (iron  goods  was  the  line  of  trade) 


NORWAY. 


453 


in  England.  When  he  began  his  travels,  a few  years  ago, 
he  was  the  only  agent  from  the  city  where  the  business  was 
located;  now,  he  said,  there  are  twelve  houses  in  the  same 
trade,  each  one  of  which  has  its  “ commercial  traveller  ” 
persecuting  the  natives  of  Norway  into  buying  their  goods. 
They  must  learn  the  language,  of  course,  and  then  go  from 
village  to  village  all  the  summer,  driving  their  business  with 
energy,  followed  by  other  travellers  of  other  houses,  in  other 
lines  of  traffic.  So  the  shops  of  England  are  open  at  the 
door  of  every  trader  in  the  most  obscure  parts  of  this  se- 
cluded country.  So  the  iron  and  cotton  and  woollen  goods 
of  Sheffield  and  Birmingham  and  Manchester  are  forced 
out  of  the  little  island  of  their  production  into  all  the  earth. 
I presume  we  do  our  share  of  the  same  kind  of  pushing ; 
but  John  Bull  is  the  master  of  the  business. 

On  this  boat  were  files  of  newspapers  and  a neat  library 
of  well  selected  books  in  Norse,  and  German,  and  in 
English,  for  the  use  of  passengers.  The  large  number  of 
volumes  in  our  own  tongue  showed  that  they  made  special 
circulations  on  having  English-speaking  travellers.  Indeed, 
in  the  summer  season  Norway  is  taken  possession  of  by  the 
English.  All  the  streams  are  bought  or  hired  by  sportsmen 
in  England,  who  come  annually,  and  thus  secure  the  exclu- 
sive right  to  catch  the  fish  in  them.  Many  who  are  not  aware 
of  this  “pre-emption”  come  to  Norway,  and  are  disap- 
pointed of  their  sport. 

Close  by  the  hotel  stands  an  ancient  church,  well  pre- 
served, and  very  interesting.  The  pastor  resides  five  miles 
away ; but  he  arrived  at  the  hotel  before  service,  for  the 
good  people  of  the  inn  were  his  parishioners,  and  they  make 
him  welcome  every  Sunday  morning  for  a little  refreshment 
after  his  ride  and  before  his  labors  begin.  He  was  a very 
fat  man,  with  a face  that  did  not  bespeak  the  scholar  and 
divine  any  more  than  did  the  faces  of  my  lamented  friends 
Bethune  and  Krebs,  both  eloquent  and  learned,  but  not 


454 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


spirituel  in  their  physique.  He  spoke  neither  English  nor 
French,  and  our  conversation  was,  therefore,  only  of  the 
most  general  character,  patched  out  of  German  and  Latin. 

At  eleven  o’clock  we  went  over  to  the  church.  It  is  built 
of  logs,  in  the  form  of  a cross  ; the  logs  fitted  nicely  to- 
gether, and  boarded  rudely  on  the  outside.  No  plaster  or 
paint  was  on  the  inside.  Pine-tree  branches,  with  project- 
ing sticks,  were  convenient  hat  stands.  In  front  of  the 
pulpit  the  altar  was  railed  off,  and  over  the  railing  was  the 
national  coat  of  arms.  Over  the  altar  were  little  images,  a 
crucifix,  Virgin  Mary,  and  such  signs  of  lingering  supersti- 
tion as  the  Lutheran  Church  in  these  countries  still  retains. 

The  women  sat  on  one  side  of  the  middle  aisle,  the  men 
on  the  other.  The  men  were  fine  looking,  generally  of  good 
height  and  stalwart.  The  women  were  not  good  looking. 
They  wore  no  peculiar  costume.  Many  had  bonnets  on. 
Some  had  only  a handkerchief  on  their  heads,  of  white, 
yellow,  red,  or  spotted,  as  the  taste  of  each  suggested.  Some 
elderly  ladies  wore  white  lace  or  muslin  caps,  extending  in 
front,  and  some  had  a black  silk  cap  on  the  back  of  their 
heads.  The  men  wore  plain,  black  clothes,  coarse,  but  clean 
and  decent. 

They  were  devout  in  appearance  and  very  attentive.  The 
preacher  was  earnest,  and  in  his  manner  patriarchal,  pastoral, 
affectionate.  He  had  no  Bible,  and  no  notes  before  him,  but 
discoursed  with  great  fluency  and  fervor. 

After  sermon  the  Lord’s  Supper  was  celebrated.  The 
whole  congregation  communed.  The  house  was  packed 
full  of  people,  and  it  appeared  to  me  that  every  individual 
came  forward  to  partake.  They  went  up  in  successive 
groups,  knelt,  and  the  pastor  placed  his  hand  on  the  head 
of  each  one  and  pronounced  words  of  absolution.  When 
this  was  done  the  assistant  came  out  and  put  a white  gown 
on  the  pastor,  over  the  black  with  a white  ruff,  in  which  he 
had  preached.  The  assistant  said  a prayer  while  the  pastor 


NORWAY. 


455 


was  kneeling,  and  then  intoned  a service,  in  which  there 
were  no  responses,  except  from  the  organ.  Each  communi- 
cant received,  while  kneeling,  both  bread  and  wine  from  the 
hands  of  the  pastor. 

The  service  was  very  long,  and  it  appeared  longer  to  us 
who  did  not  understand  a word  of  the  language  used.  But 
it  was  very  affecting.  There  was  so  much  earnestness  and 
devotion  in  pastor  and  people  ; they  approached  with  such 
evident  solemnity  and  becoming  fear,  and  yet  with  such 
strong  desire,  and  the  venerable  pastor,  like  a father  in  the 
midst  of  his  children,  gave  them  the  emblems  of  redeeming 
love  with  such  gracious  kindness  of  tone  and  manner  that 
I was  constrained  to  ask  my  companion  what  he  thought  of 
it,  and  he  answered,  “ I should  like  to  go  and  join  them.” 
This  would  not  have  been  proper,  as  we  were  strangers  to 
all  present,  and  it  may  be  that  it  would  have  been  incon- 
sistent with  their  rules  to  receive  us.  But  our  hearts  were 
with  them,  and  we  came  away  refreshed.  We  had  been  in 
communion  with  them,  though  they  knew  it  not,  and  with 
our  common  Lord  and  Master,  whose  table  in  Norway  is 
the  same,  and  spread  with  the  same  simple  but  delicious 
fare  in  the  north  as  in  the  south.  And  when  we  all  come, 
as  we  shall  come,  from  the  east  and  the  west,  and  sit  down 
with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
I hope  to  meet,  my  Norway  pastor  and  his  people  at  the 
Supper  of  the  Lamb. 

It  made  very  plain  to  me  the  essential  oneness  of  the 
church  on  earth.  What  did  they,  — these  simple-hearted 
Christians  in  the  heart  of  Norway,  — what  did  they  but 
testify  their  faith  in  Him  whose  sacrifice  is  their  salvation  ? 

It  was  pleasant  to  observe  that  the  village  was  through- 
out the  sabbath  as  quiet  and  orderly  as  any  place  in  our 
own  or  any  land  could  be.  The  scenery  around  it  is  pictur- 
esque and  beautiful.  Sombre  mountains,  sweet  valleys, 
romantic  waterfalls,  green  hillsides,  these  are  the  natural 


456 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


features  of  this  secluded  region,  where  I came  to  get  into 
the  very  heart  of  Norway,  and  spend  a sabbath  among  the 
people. 

Cheap  as  living  is  in  Sweden  it  is  cheaper  in  Norway. 
In  Lillehammer,  — this  pleasant  village  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Mjosen,  in  the  midst  of  beautiful  scenery,  where  a fire  is  a 
luxury  in  midsummer,  and  the  windows  of  the  cottages 
blossom  with  flowers,  and  the  streams  laugh  loudly  as  they 
tumbled  along  among  the  hills,  where  the  linen  on  the  beds 
and  the  table  is  as  white  as  the  snow  of  the  long  winters, 
— here  in  Lillehammer  I spent  one  day  and  two  nights,  and 
my  hotel  bill  for  five  meals,  two  sleeps,  and  three  rides,  was 
three  dollars  of  our  money.  That  is  cheap  enough,  I am 
sure ; for  the  eating  and  sleeping  and  riding  were  just  as 
good  as  you  would  get  at  Niagara  Falls,  where  the  prices 
are  so  high  that  the  Falls  appear  low  in  comparison. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  returned  to  the  steamboat  on 
the  lake,  to  go  back  to  Christiania.  A young  woman,  a 
cripple,  was  brought  in  an  arm-chair  by  two  men,  and 
tenderly  placed  on  board.  The  care  they  seemed  to  take 
of  her  was  touching,  and  her  gentleness  made  me  wish  that 
I had  the  Norse  language  at  command  that  I might  learn 
something  of  life  among  the  lowly  and  the  suffering,  in  this 
part  of  the  world. 

At  Eidsvold  we  touched,  and  saw  the  people  launching 
an  iron  steamer , for  lake  navigation,  of  course,  and  it  was 
new  to  me  to  see  a vessel  launched  sideways. 

At  Christiania  a large  party  of  Americans  — and  we  were 
certainly  in  the  midst  of  them  — spent  the  afternoon  in 
seeing  the  sights  of  the  town,  and  riding  about  in  the 
carioles  of  the  country.  A cariole  is  not  a carry-all,  for  its 
capacity  is  to  hold  one,  and  no  more.  A boy  may  hang  on 
behind  to  hold  the  little  horse  when  you  stop,  but  you  ride 
alone  and  drive.  Not  much  driving  is  required ; you  take 
your  seat  in  this  low,  uncovered,  rattling,  comfortless  con- 


TRAVELLING  IN  CARIOLES  IN 


458 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


cern,  and  away  goes  the  rat  of  a horse,  tearing  along  like 
mad ; and  as  each  person  has  to  have  a machine  to  himself, 
a dozen  of  them  make  a long  string  of  vehicles,  which, 
dashing  over  the  stones,  create  a sensation.  Young  ladies 
from  America  are  fond  of  this  exciting  exercise.  It  is 
almost  equal  to  horseback  riding.  Some  English  ladies  of 
title  and  wealth  are  making  the  tour  of  Norway  this 
summer  with  no  attendants,  travelling  only  in  the  cariole. 
The  government  makes  all  needful  provision  for  travellers 
that  they  may  not  be  imposed  upon  by  the  post-keepers. 
Licensed  houses  are  planted  along  the  highways  at  intervals 
of  about  ten  miles,  where  the  keeper  is  obliged  to  keep  a 
certain  number  of  horses  for  hire,  and  if  all  are  out,  when  a 
traveller  comes  he  is  required  to  get  horses  from  his  neigh- 
bors. You  buy  your  cariole,  — a cheap  and  miserable  thing 
it  is,  — hire  a bit  of  a horse,  and  are  off.  At  the  first  post- 
house  you  leave  your  horse,  take  another,  paying  the  legal 
price  for  its  use,  enter  your  name  in  a book  with  any  com- 
plaint you  may  have  to  make  of  the  treatment  you  have 
received,  which  the  Government  Inspector  is  to  read  when 
he  comes  in  his  regular  tours.  These  post-houses  could,  at 
a pinch,  give  you  something  to  eat  and  a place  to  sleep  in ; 
and  a few  days  and  nights  of  travel  in  Norway  will  make 
fare  and  quarters  tolerable,  at  which  you  might  have  slightly 
elevated  your  nose  in  Paris  or  Broadway.  I have  been  in 
several  countries  and  have  passed,  some  years  in  travel,  but 
never  spent  twenty-four  hours  in  my  life  without  food  con- 
venient for  me,  and  a better  place  to  sleep  in  than  his  who 
had  not  where  to  lay  his  head. 

So  we  set  off  from  the  tavern  in  the  capital  of  Norway, 
in  a dozen  carioles,  rushing  amain  down  the  rough  streets 
and  out  into  the  country  to  Oscar  Hall , and  marvelled  ex- 
ceedingly at  the  taste  and  beauty  of  its  decorations  within 
and  without : nature  adorned  by  art,  in  lovely  grounds 
about  the  house,  and  the  views  of  the  Fiord,  the  mountains 
ano  plains. 


NORWAY. 


459 


The  castle  of  Agershaus  commands  magnificent  views, 
and  keeps  in  its  strongholds  the  regalia  of  Norway  and  the 
records  of  its  romantic  history.  Old  guns,  relics  of  an  effete 
system  of  warfare,  bear  on  their  faces  rude  pictures  in  brass 
of  barbarians  in  war.  The  old  castle  is  a prison  now.  And 
if  you  suppose  that  it  takes  an  Englishman  or  even  a United- 
Statesman  to  make  a cute  rogue,  just  read  the  story  of  the 
Robin  Hood  of  Norway. 

In  the  castle  of  Agershaus , in  Christiania,  in  a cage  of 
thick  iron  bars,  is  immured  for  life,  Hoyland,  the  Robin 
Hood  of  Norway.  His  robberies  were  always  confined  to 
the  upper  classes,  while  his  kindness  and  liberality  to 
those  in  his  own  rank  of  life  rendered  him  exceedingly  pop- 
ular amongst  them.  His  crimes  never  appear  to  have  been 
accompanied  with  personal  violence.  He  is  a native  of 
Christiansand,  where  he  began  his  career.  On  being  im- 
prisoned for  some  petty  theft,  he  broke  into  the  inspector’s 
room,  while  he  was  at  church,  and  stole  his  clothes  ; these 
Hoyland  dressed  himself  in  and  quietly  walked  out  of  the 
town  unobserved  and  unsuspected.  He  was  subsequently 
repeatedly  captured,  and  imprisoned  in  this  castle,  and  often 
made  his  escape.  On  one  occasion  he  was  taken  on  board 
a vessel  just  leaving  the  Christiania  Fiord  for  America. 
Previous  to  his  escape,  all  descriptions  of  irons  having  been 
found  useless,  he  was  placed  in  solitary  confinement  in  the 
strongest  part  of  the  basement  of  the  citadel  — his  room 
was  floored  with  very  thick  planks.  Here  he  had  been 
confined  for  several  years,  when  one  night  the  turnkey 
said  to  him,  “ Well,  you  are  fixed  at  last,  you  will  never  get 
out  of  this,  and  you  may  as  well  promise  us  you  will  not 
attempt  it.”  To  this  he  only  replied,  “ It  is  your  business 
to  keep  me  here  if  you  can,  and  mine  to  prevent  your  doing 
so  if  possible.”  The  following  day,  when  his  cell  was 
opened,  the  prisoner  was  gone,  apparently  without  leaving 
a trace  of  the  manner  in  which  he  had  effected  his  escape. 


460 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


After  a repeated  and  careful  search,  on  removing  his  bed, 
it  was  found  that  he  had  cut  through  the  thick  planks  of  the 
flooring.  On  removing  the  planks  cut  away  (and  which 
he  had  replaced  on  leaving  the  cell)  it  appeared  he  had 
sunk  a shaft,  and  formed  a gallery  under  the  wall  of  his 
prison  — this  enabled  him  to  gain  the  court-yard,  from 
which  he  easily  reached  the  ramparts  unseen,  dropped  into 
the  ditch  and  got  off.  No  trace  of  him  could  be  found. 
About  twelve  months  afterwards,  the  National  Bank  was 
robbed  of  60,000  dollars,  chiefly  paper  money,  and  in  the 
most  mysterious  manner,  there  being  no  trace  of  violence 
upon  the  locks  of  the  iron  chest  in  which  the  money  had 
been  left,  or  upon  those  of  the  doors  of  the  bank.  Some 
time  afterwards  a petty  theft  was  committed  by  a man  who 
was  taken  and  soon  recognized  to  be  Hoyland.  He  then 
disclosed  how  he  had  effected  his  last  escape,  which  had 
taken  him  three  years  of  steady  patient  labor  to  accomplish  ; 
while  others  slept  he  was  at  work,  and  with  a nail  for  his 
only  tool.  Having  money  concealed  in  the  mountains  he 
was  sheltered  in  Christiania  — disguised  himself  — made 
acquaintance  with  the  porter  of  the  bank  — gradually,  with- 
out his  knowledge,  took  impressions  of  the  various  locks  — 
made  keys  for  them  — and  thus  committed  the  robbery 
before  mentioned.  He  is  said  to  carve  beautifully  in  wood 
and  stone,  but  is  no  longer  allowed  the  use  of  tools.  His 
sole  occupation  is  knitting  stockings  with  wooden  pins. 
Twice  during  the  day,  while  the  other  prisoners  are  not  at 
work,  he  is  allowed  to  leave  his  cell  for  air  and  exercise, 
and  he  occasionally  gets  the  amusement  of  a chat  w’ith  the 
governor,  by  writing  to  him  that  he  will  disclose  where 
the  rest  of  the  bank  money  is  concealed  which  he  did  not 
get  rid  of  while  at  liberty. 

Then  we  rode  on  and  took  a look  at  the  Asylum  for  the 
Deaf  and  Dumb,  and  at  the  Home  for  the  Aged,  and  at  the 
Orphan  Asylum,  and  at  the  Workhouse,  and  all  these  in- 


NORWAY. 


461 


stitutions  had  the  appearance  of  being  the  fruit  of  intelli- 
gent philanthropy  and  Christian  charity. 

Manufacturing  villages  were  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  city,  with  cotton  and  iron  mills  driven  by  water  power, 
and  every  thing  about  them  suggested  thrift  and  comfort. 

We  rode  out  to  the  oldest  church  of  the  city,  and  found 
in  the  adjoining  cemetery  the  grave  of  Bradshaw , whose 
guide  everybody  carries  and  nobody  understands.  I thought 
he  was  living  and  working  in  London,  but  it  seems  that 
several  years  ago  he  came  up  here,  with  one  of  his  own 
guides,  and  found  a grave. 


462 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

DENMARK. 


AT  7E  are  coming  down  to  Denmark.  Down  from  Nor- 
^ * way  and  along  the  coast  of  Sweden.  First  through 
the  Skagerack  and  then  the  Cattegat,  in  the  steamer  Ex- 
cellent Toll,  by  name,  with  twenty  American  passen- 
gers. Fleets  of  sailing  vessels  were  in  sight,  the  crews 
engaged  in  the  mackerel  fishery,  a great  business  off  this 
coast.  The  day  was  as  lovely  as  the  suns  of  Italy  ever 
show,  and  the  sunset  revealed  such  splendors  as  I never 
saw  except  in  Mantua,  under  Italian  skies. 

The  sun  went  down  as  if  into  the  western  ocean,  where 
poets  often  tell  us  he  “ quenches  his  beams.”  A few  clouds 
were  lying  along  the  horizon,  in  long  rifts  stretching  a quar- 
ter of  the  way  around  the  great  circle  of  the  heavens. 


DENMARK. 


463 


They  were  burnished  with  golden  splendors,  and  among 
the  rifts  the  sky  seemed  painted  with  the  hues  of  the  rain- 
bow. The  passengers  stood  on  the  upper  deck,  and  all 
were  in  raptures  of  admiration  gazing  upon  the  mag- 
nificent scene.  Long  after  the  sun  was  gone  the  great 
picture  hung  on  the  northern  sky,  and  we  watched  it  till 
the  many-colored  painting  gradually  and  finally  faded  into 
the  sombre  tints  of  evening.  The  moon  then  gave  us 
silver  for  gol'd,  and  for  some  hours  after  sunset  it  looked 
as  though  the  sun  were  rising  ! 

We  passed  the  night  on  this  voyage,  touching  at  Got- 
tenberg  at  midnight,  for  an  hour  only.  The  next  day  (July 
10)  was  equally  brilliant  with  the  first,  and  the  run  along 
down  the  coast  was  exciting  and  pleasant.  About  midday 
we  entered  the  Sound  and  soon  came  to  Elsinore,  where 
we  had  no  Sound  duties  to  pay.  From  time  immemorial 
— so  long  that  the  date  of  the  origin  of  the  custom  is  lost 
in  the  fogs  of  the  region  — the  Danes  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  demand  and  receive  toll  from  every  vessel  passing 
Elsinore.  No  end  of  trouble  was  the  result  of  this.  The 
Vienna  treaty  of  1815,  after  Napoleon’s  downfall,  confirmed 
the  Danes  in  their  enjoyment  of  this  imposition.  Some 
nations  afterwards  commuted  with  Denmark,  and  the  whole 
thing  was  abolished  in  1857. 

In  the  time  of  Tycho  Brahe,  the  famous  astronomer,  whose 
house  we  saw  on  one  of  the  lakes  in  Sweden  as  we  were 
going  to  Upsala,  the  Danes  built  a mighty  castle  here, 
called  Kronborg,  and  mounted  big  guns,  so  as  to  sweep 
the  Sound  and  make  it  very  desirable  for  vessels  to  stop  as 
they  were  going  by  and  pay  their  toll.  If  they  refused  to 
do  so  they  were  spoken  to  by  these  guns.  And  sometimes 
it  was  a word  and  a blow.  This  castle  is  famous  in  the 
legends  and  history  of  Denmark,  and  within  the  last  hun- 
dred years  it  has  held  distinguished  and  royal  prisoners, 
who  have  exchanged  dungeons  for  the  scaffold.  Down  in 


464 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


the  subterranean  casemates  a thousand  men  may  be  stored 
away  — soldiers  to  defend  the  castle,  or  prisoners  to  pine  in 
captivity.  In  one  of  these  secret  hiding  places,  where 
neither  light  nor  pity  finds  its  way,  a noted  mythical 
giant  of  Danish  story  is  said  to  reside.  He  never  comes 
up  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but  when  the  State  is  in 
danger,  and  then  he  takes  the  head  of  the  army  and  leads 
it  on  to  victory.  His  grasp  is  so  strong  that  his  fingers 
leave  their  imprint  on  an  iron  crowbar  when  he  holds  it  in 
his  fist. 

The  views  from  the  castle  and  from  any  of  the  elevations 
in  Elsinore  embrace  the  town,  the  fortifications,  Helsing- 
borg  on  the  other  side  of  the  Sound,  the  Great  Belt,  the 
Baltic  dotted  with  sails,  — a grand  panorama  indeed. 

Shakespeare  was  kind  enough  to  make  this  vicinity  clas- 
sic and  famous  by  his  Hamlet,  whose  grave  is  said  to  be 
here,  and  travellers  come  to  find  it,  as  they  look  for  Ro- 
meo and  Juliet’s  at  Verona.  In  vain  we  are  told  that 
Hamlet  did  not  live  nor  die  in  these  parts  ; that  Jutland 
and  not  Zealand,  was  his  country.  But  they  pay  their 
money  and  they  take  their  choice,  and  most  of  people 
choose  to  believe  that  Hamlet  was  buried  hereabouts,  and 
any  heap  of  stones  with  Runic  characters  upon  them 
would  answer  the  purpose,  but  they  cannot  find  even 
this.  Drop  the  letter  H and  we  have  Amlet,  and  that 
signifies  madman , and  so  you  have  the  beginning  of  the 
story  on  which  the  tragedy  was  founded.  And  the  story 
runs  in  this  wise  in  the  gossipy  guide-books,  so  useful  to 
travellers,  and  especially  to  those  who  have  to  write  about 
their  travels. 

According  to  the  Danish  history  of  old  Saxo  Grammat- 
icus, Hamlet  was  not  the  son  of  a Danish  king,  but  of  a 
famous  pirate-chief,  who  was  governor  of  Jutland  in  con- 
junction with  his  brother.  Hamlet’s  father  married  the 
daughter  of  the  Danish  king,  and  the  issue  of  that  mar- 


DENMARK. 


465 


riage  was  Hamlet.  Hamlet’s  father  was  subsequently 
murdered  by  his  brother,  who  married  the  widow  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  government  of  the  whole  of  Jutland.  As  a 
pagan,  it  was  Hamlet’s  first  duty  to  avenge  his  father.  The 
better  to  conceal  his  purpose,  he  feigned  madness.  His 
uncle,  suspecting  it  to  be  feigned,  sent  him  to  England, 
with  a request  to  the  king  that  he  would  put  Hamlet  to 
death.  He  was  accompanied  by  two  creatures  of  his 
uncle,  whose  letter  to  the  English  king  was  carved  upon 
wood,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  period.  This  Ham- 
let during  the  voyage  contrived  to  get  possession  of,  and 
so  altered  the  characters  as  to  make  it  a request  that  his 
two  companions  should  be  slain,  and  which  was  accord- 
ingly done  on  their  arrival  in  England.  He  afterwards 
married  the  daughter  of  the  English  king:  but  subse- 
quently returning  to  Jutland,  and  still  feigning  madness, 
contrived  to  surprise  and  slay  his  uncle,  after  upbraiding 
him  with  his  various  crimes.  Hamlet  then  became  gov- 
ernor of  Jutland,  married  a second  time  to  a queen  of 
Scotland,  and  was  eventually  killed  in  battle. 

I wish  we  could  stop  at  Frederiksborg,  but  we  must 
come  back  to  it  from  Copenhagen.  For  here  is  the  royal 
castle  of  Denmark,  built  in  1600,  and  now  the  repository 
of  works  of  art  and  objects  of  antiquarian  interest  con- 
nected with  the  reigning  house.  It  was  in  this  castle  that 
the  unfortunate  queen  of  Christian  VII.  died  at  the  early 
age  of  twenty-three,  a broken-hearted  victim  of  slander  and 
conspiracy.  In  one  of  the  private  rooms  in  which  this 
beautiful  woman  was  a prisoner,  she  wrote  with  a diamond 
upon  the  window  pane  this  touching  and  self-sacrificing 
prayer : — 

“ O keep  me  innocent,  make  others  great” 

The  woodland  scenery  around  the'  castle  is  charming. 
The  Royal  Forest  covers  a vast  extent  laid  out  with  lovely 

30 


4 66 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


walks  and  drives,  and  the  whole  island  of  Zealand  is  pre- 
served for  royal  pleasures  in  forest  and  field. 

A drive  through  this  forest  brings  you  to  the  Castle  of 
Peace , so  called  because  a treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  in 
it  with  Sweden ; and  perhaps  it  keeps  its  name  the  more 
fittingly,  as  the  palace  is  now  cut  up  into  apartments  which 
are  occupied  by  families,  once  rich,  now  poor,  belonging  to 
the  aristocracy.  They  find  it  very  convenient  to  live  in  a 
palace  free  of  rent,  and  as  the  neighbors  are  all  in  the 
same  condition  with  themselves,  they  are  not  mortified  by 
the  fact  that  they  are  dependents  of  the  State.  We  would 
call  such  a place  the  royal  pcor-house.  In  England,  the 
splendid  palace  at  Hampton  Court,  which  Cromwell  built 
and  gave  to  his  king  for  fear  he  would  take  it  without,  is 
used  for  decayed  families  of  the  British  aristocracy,  who 
live  genteelly  in  kings’  houses  at  very  little  expense. 

Denmark  is  not  one  of  the  great  countries  of  the  earth, 
but  very  far  from  being  least  among  the  kingdoms.  It  has 
a history,  and  a future  too,  civilization,  religion,  science, 
art,  and  enterprise.  It  made  a fine  show  at  Paris  in  the 
World’s  Industrial  Exhibition,  and  has  no  reason  to  be 
ashamed  of  her  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  fish.  I was 
surprised  to  notice  in  the  fields  so  many  of  the  productions 
common  in  the  northern  States  of  America.  A kitchen 
garden  looked  homelike,  with  its  pease  and  beans  and  cab- 
bage and  potatoes  and  turnips,  and  all  the  ordinary  vegeta- 
bles cultivated  in  the  same  way  with  our  own  ; and  the 
crops  on  the  broader  farms,  wheat  and  rye  and  oats  ; so 
that  the  children,  playing  the  games  of  the  country  and 
singing  as  they  played,  were  doubtless  familiar  with  the 
farmers’  song, — 

“Oats,  pease,  beans,  and  barley  grow.’’ 

Let  us  study  the  history  of  Denmark  for  a moment. 
Time  was  when  Denmark  was  the  ruling  power  in  Scan- 


DENMARK. 


467 


dinavia,  which  name  includes  her  and  Norway  and  Sweden. 
Time  was  when  Denmark  conquered  all  England,  and 
Sweyn  I.,  the  king  of  Denmark,  was  on  the  throne  that  the 
Georges  and  Victoria  have  since  filled.  Canute  the 
Great  was  also  king  of  Denmark  and  England,  and  a line 
of  kings  after  him  swayed  the  same  double  sceptre.  This 
was  when  the  Christian  era  was  in  the  iooo’s,  and  perhaps 
Denmark  has  never  had  a more  illustrious  period  of  history 
than  in  the  first  part  of  the  eleventh  century.  Then 
England  and  all  the  north,  with  part  of  Prussia,  were 
under  her  crown. 

She  fell.  And  not  by  the  superior  prowess  of  any  rival 
foreign  prince,  but  through  the  treachery  and  violence  of 
one  of  her  own  subjects.  Those  were  turbulent  times 
doubtless,  and  it  is  wonderful  that  the  mighty  monarch  of 
such  a kingdom  could  be  seized,  as  Valdemar  II.  was  (by 
one  of  his  own  subjects)  while  he  and  his  son  were  hunting 
in  the  woods,  carried  on  board  a sloop  and  off  to  a foreign 
castle  and  immured  in  prison  for  three  years.  The  proud- 
est king  in  Europe  was  thus  insulted  and  bearded  and 
degraded,  while  Europe  looked  on  without  raising  a hand 
to  deliver  him.  At  length  the  Pope  threatened,  and  one 
word  from  him  did  what  the  kings  of  the  earth  could  not. 
Valdemar  was  released  and  restored,  but  his  prestige  was 
destroyed  and  he  never  recovered  from  the  effects  of  his 
fall.  Provinces  revolted  and  became  independent.  Eng- 
land set  up  for  herself  again.  In  1387,  Queen  Margaret 
came  to  the  throne  of  Denmark  and  Norway,  and  subdued 
Sweden.  For  a hundred  years  the  three  Scandinavian 
countries  were  under  the  same  government.  In  1448,  the 
king  of  Denmark  died,  and  for  a whole  century  no  male 
heir  was  left  by  any  sovereign  for  the  throne.  Then  the 
German  dynasty  came  in,  and  the  Duchy  of  Schleswig 
was  united  with  Holstein,  which  was  annexed  to  Denmark 
under  Christian  I.  There  begins  that  Schleswig-Holstein 


468 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


question,  which  bothered  Europe  and  has  plunged  the 
country  into  war  even  in  our  day.  The  very  next  king, 
Christian  II.,  lost  Sweden  ; and  then  Denmark  became  a 
little  monarchy,  all  by  itself,  which  you  will  find  embracing 
a peninsula  and  several  islands  on  the  north-west  coast  of 
Europe. 

England  and  Denmark  have  been  good  friends  notwith- 
standing the  unpleasant  relations  that  once  existed.  Three 
or  four  times  the  royal  families  have  intermarried,  and  the 
Prince  of  Wales  of  the  present  day  depends  far  more  on 
the  popularity  in  England  of  his  Danish  wife,  than  on  any 
merits  of  his  own  for  his  future  success  on  the  British 
throne.  These  pleasant  relations  were  disturbed  in  the 
early  part  of  the  present  century  when  the  British  de- 
stroyed the  Danish  fleet  and  commerce  ; and,  since  that 
time,  Denmark  has  cultivated  the  arts  of  peace,  making 
for  herself  a name  better  than  the  glory  of  arms  or 
extent  of  territory. 

Christianity  fought  with  paganism  in  Denmark  during 
the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  ; and,  after  a terrible  struggle, 
triumphed  over  Thor  and  Odin,  whose  superstitious  power 
is  still  felt  in  the  minds  of  the  more  ignorant  of  the  people. 
Then  the  Romish  religion  reigned,  until  the  Luther 
reformation  came  with  healing  in  its  beams,  and  Protest- 
antism became  the  religion  of  Denmark.  The  Lutheran 
form  of  worship  is  established,  but,  under  the  constitution, 
toleration  is  enjoyed. 

In  no  one  department  of  public  interest  have  I been  more 
pleased  to  be  disappointed,  than  in  the  general  intelligence 
prevailing  among  the  people  of  these  northern  countries  of 
Europe.  They  are  Protestants,  and,  therefore,  knowledge 
is  diffused  ; the  people  wishing  it,  and  the  government 
encouraging  it.  No  Roman  Catholic  government  favors 
free  schools  and  the  universal  elevation  of  the  people.  The 
Danes  have  a school  in  every  parish,  and  every  child  is 


DENMARK, 


469 


obliged  to  go  to  school  and  learn  to  read  and  write.  There 
are  higher  grades  of  schools  in  all  the  towns,  and  two  uni- 
versities,— one  at  Copenhagen  and  one  at  Kiel.  Thus  .the 


A Domestic  Scene  in  Denmark. 


means  of  education  being  brought  within  the  reach  of  the 
humblest,  the  whole  country  is  enlightened. 


470 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


The  women  are  good-looking,  and  in  this  matter  there 
are  national  peculiarities  worth  noticing.  At  a fair  or 
public  entertainment,  where  men  and  women  of  the  working 
classes  are  brought  together  in  great  numbers,  the  women 
of  Denmark  will  be  pronounced  above  the  average  for  good 
looks,  and,  perhaps,  the  same  thing  would  not  be  said  of  the 
men. 

Copenhagen  is  the  capital  of  Denmark,  and  the  capital  of 
Copenhagen  is  Thorvaldsen’s  Museum.  Copenhagen  has 
other  and  many  attactions,  but  this  museum  is  the  crown 
and  glory  of  Denmark.  Art  has  her  victories,  and  those  of 
war  are  not  so  enduring  in  their  glory  as  the  fruits  of  genius 
and  peace.  Here  in  this  ancient  and  beautiful  city,  in  1770, 
— a hundred  years,  save  one,  ago,  — was  born  Albert  Thor- 
valdsen, the  son  of  an  Iceland  ship-carpenter.  Poor,  obscure, 
and  friendless,  but  inspired  with  the  genius  of  his  future 
art,  the  boy  made  his  own  way  to  Rome.  He  found  em- 
ployment in  the  studio  of  Can  ova,  and  his  talents  soon 
commanded  respect.  But  he  lacked  the  aid  of  a patron  and 
friend,  and  he  was  about  to  abandon  Italy  in  despair,  when 
an  English  banker,  by  the  auspicious  name  of  Hope , appre- 
ciated the  artist,  ordered  a marble  statue  of  Jason,  which 
was  standing  in  the  clay,  and  from  that  glad  hour  his  career 
was  onward  and  brilliant,  till  he  attained  wealth  and  fame 
unsurpassed  by  any  sculptor  of  ancient  or  modern  times. 
He  loved  his  native  Scandinavian  climes,  and  often  visited 
the  city  of  his  birth,  which  he  enriched  with  the  noblest 
creations  of  his  marvellous  hand.  But  he  dwelt  in  Rome, 
unmarried,  save  to  his  art  ; and  when  he  returned,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-eight,  to  Copenhagen,  he  was  received  as  a 
conqueror,  was  domiciled  in  the  palace,  and,  six  years  after- 
wards, died  in  the  midst  of  the  lamentations  of  the  people, 
who  loved  him  and  whom  he  loved. 

As  he  made  the  people  the  heir  of  his  glorious  works  — 
in  large  part  the  models  of  the  statuary  he  had  executed  for 


DENMARK. 


471 


kings  and  nations  and  wealthy  individuals  — it  was  resolved 
to  erect  a monument  to  his  name,  which  should  be  at  once 
a museum  of  his  creations  and  a mausoleum  for  his  remains. 
In  the  midst  of  the  city,  and  on  an  open  square,  a building 
— a vast  parallelogram  with  a court-yard  in  the  centre  of 


Facade  of  the  Thorvaldsen  Museum,  Copenhagen. 


it  — has  been  reared ; the  successive  stories  filled  with 
the  productions  of  the  genius  of  this  one  man,  including 
the  minutest  specimens,  up  to  the  model  of  his  “ Christ,”  the 
highest  achievement  of  his,  not  to  say  of  human,  art.  In  the 
midst  of  the  little  court-yard,  surrounded  on  its  four  sides 
by  the  walls  of  this  museum,  so  that  every  window  on  the 
inner  side  looks  down  into  the  court,  there  lie  in  solemn 
and  sublime  repose  the  ashes  and  bones  of  the  man  who 
made  all  these  things  ! It  is  silent ; but  oh  ! how  eloquent 
the  lesson  of  the  greatness  and  the  vanity  of  genius  ! It 
is  something,  it  is  a grand  thing,  to  have  made  all  these 
marbles  for  the  joy  and  instruction  of  mankind  ; and  it  is 
sweet  to  die  with  the  consciousness  of  leaving  for  after 
generations  the  works  that  shall  teach  them  lessons  of 
virtue  and  strength  and  beauty.  But  to  die  and  leave  them 


472 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


all  ! To  lie  and  moulder  in  the  midst  of  them  ! To  be 
rotting  while  even  the  clay  that  one’s  fingers  moulded  into 
life-like  shapes  is  admired  — this  makes  the  cup  of  life 
an  insipid  draught,  and  the  wise  man  cries  it  is  vanity,  all 
vanity,  after  all.  Yet  not  so  vain  after  all ! No  man  liveth 
unto  himself ; and  one  would  gladly  take  the  pay  that  a 
good,  great  man  gets,  who  adds  to  the  material  wealth  of 
the  world  the  glorious  creations  of  art  for  all  time  to  come, 
and  then  dies  in  the  midst  of  them.  It  is  more  also  to  be 
useful  than  to  be  great ; and  he  who  lives  to  make  others 
happy,  though  not  an  artist  in  stone  or  oil,  lives  to  a noble 
purpose,  and  his  mausoleum  is  in  the  hearts  made  glad  by 
his  kindness  while  he  lived. 

On  the  outside  of  this  museum  the  walls  are  covered 
with  fresco  paintings  illustrating  the  mechanical  processes 
by  which  the  statuary  was  brought  to  its  place.  This  is  the 
antique  Grecian,  and  even  Egyptian,  idea  of  celebrating  an 
historical  event.  It  might  be  called  Thorvaldsen’s  triumph. 
Within  the  frieze  of  the  grand  hall  is  the  triumph  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great.  The  Hall  of  Christ  contains  the  casts  of 
the  Saviour  and  all  his  disciples  — that  wondrous  group 
which  in  marble  illuminates  the  chief  church  in  Copen- 
hagen. And  as  we  ascend  from  floor  to  floor,  and  pass 
through  successive  chambers  — all  of  them  filled  with  the 
handiwork  of  the  same  great  artist  who  sleeps  in  sight  of 
every  window  — one  is  filled  with  admiring  awe,  while 
charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  design  and  execution. 
Beauty  is  not  the  word,  though  much  here  is  very  beau- 
tiful. Thorvaldsen  was  one  of  the  first  to  appreciate  and 
encourage  our  own  sculptor  Powers,  whose  works  are  more 
beautiful  than  the  Dane’s.  Strength,  majesty,  power  — 
these  are  the  attributes  that  cover  as  with  a garment  the 
face,  the  head,  the  limbs  of  the  heroes  whom  Thorvaldsen 
by  his  magic  chisel  turned  into  stone.  The  divine  is  re- 
vealed in  his  conception  of  the  Redeemer  of  men.  The 


DENMARK. 


473 


god-like  is  in  Moses  and  Peter  and  John  the  Baptist;  and 
his  ancient  heroes  are  inspired  with  a sentiment  that  is 
easily  drawn  from  the  mythology  of  Scandinavia,  in  which 
the  worship  of  Thor  and  Odin  seems  to  be  incorporated 
ineffaceably. 


Portrait  of  Thorvaldsen.  ( By  Horace  Verttet.) 


Away  in  the  farthest  corner  of  the  museum  is  a collection 
of  gems  and  bronzes  and  vases  and  coins  and  antique  sculp- 
ture, which  his  taste  and  money  had  gathered  in  Italy.  Here 
is  the  furniture  of  his  sitting-room  as  it  was  the  day  he 
died,  and  here  is  a cast  of  Luther,  which  on  that  day  of 
his  death  he  had  begun  to  work ! Here  are  sketches  he 
had  made  with  pen  and ' pencil,  the  dawn  of  his  gigantic 
conceptions,  afterwards  made  perfect  in  marble  — now  in- 
teresting as  the  outlines  we  have  of  the  first  thoughts  of 
Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo  and  others  on  their  immortal 
works  ! 

Never  was  an  artist  so  honored  by  his  countrymen ; 
never  was  one’s  fame  more  precious  in  the  memory  of  his 


474 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


fellow-men.  And  I may  easily  convey  to  you  an  impression 
of  the  reverence  in  which  he  is  held  by  saying  that  Thor- 
valdsen is  to-day  in  Denmark  what  in  our  country  is  the 
name  of  Washington. 

Vor  Frue  Kirke,  the  Notre  Dame , the  Church  of  our 
Lady,  is  the  royal  church  — the  Cathedral  of  Copenhagen. 

I worshipped  there  yesterday  ; and  of  all  the  days  in  the 
year,  and  of  all  the  churches  in  Europe,  not  one  could  have 
been  selected  more  crowded  with  interest  to  a traveller 
whose  tastes  flow  in  the  channels  of  religion  and  art. 

For  as  I came  to  it  there  were  standing  on  one  side  of 
the  portal  a statue  of  David,  and  on  the  other  one  of 
Moses,  in  bronze,  both  of  them  by  the  hand  of  Thorvald- 
sen, and  sublime  with  the  inspiration  of  his  power.  I stood 
a few  moments  before  them,  and  thought  of  the  royal  poet 
and  the  inspired  law-giver,  and  wondered  at  the  art  which 
could  embody  and  express  their  spirit  and  mission  with 
such  silent  eloquence.  And  then  I entered  the  church  it- 
self, and  it  was  all  ablaze,  not  with  five  thousand  candles, 
as  I had  seen  at  St.  Peter’s  at  noonday,  not  with  flaring 
gaslights,  nor  even  the  glorious  sunlight  alone,  but  with  the 
greatest  of  modern  statues,  the  Christ  in  marble,  standing 
over  the  altar,  and  the  twelve  apostles,  six  on  one  hand  and 
six  on  the  other,  along  the  sides  of  the  house  (Paul  being 
put  in  the  place  of  Iscariot),  and  all  by  the  hand  of  the 
same  master.  Thorvaldsen  chose  this  sanctuary  as  the 
place  to  be  made  beautiful  and  glorious  with  his  works,  — 
his  triumphs.  The  Saviour  is  represented  with  extended 
arms,  as  if  he  were  saying  the  sweetest  of  all  his  words, 
“ Come  unto  me,”  and  on  the  face  of  his  disciples  rests  the 
expression  that  sacred  art  might  desire  to  present  as  char- 
acteristic of  each  one  of  the  chosen  group.  In  the  middle 
of  the  chancel  a marble  angel,  of  loveliness  unspeakable, 
is  kneeling  and  holding  in  his  hands  a shell,  which  is  the 
font  for  baptism.  Copies  of  this  are  multiplied  till  the 
world  is  familiar  with  it.  Near  the  door  is  a group  repre- 


DENMARK. 


475 


senting  a child  walking  with  his  face  heavenward,  and  an 
angel  follows,  pointing  with  his  finger  over  the  child’s  head. 
And  on  the  other  side  of  the  door  is  a Mother’s  Love  in 
marble. 

Those  who  worship  here  from  day  to  day  become  famil- 
iar with  all  this  sculpture,  and  are  not  distracted,  if  they  are 
not  aided  by  the  beauty  and  the  majesty  of  such  a wealth 
of  art.  But  a stranger  within  the  gates,  for  a morning 
only,  seeing  it  all  at  once  for  the  first  and  the  last  time, 
would  find  it  difficult  to  withdraw  his  soul  from  the  marble 
and  contemplate  for  an  hour  the  unseen  and  eternal. 
And  this  would  be  more  difficult  when  the  worshipper  is 
unable  to  understand  a word  of  the  service. 

The  church  was  full  of  people,  going  out  and  coming  in, 
as  in  Romish  churches.  The  officiating  minister  had  on  a 
white  robe,  ruffles,  and  red  mantle,  with  a broad  gilt  cross 
on  his  back.  He  stood  before  the  altar,  on  which  was  an 
image  of  the  crucifixion,  and  two  candles  four  feet  high, 
and  burning.  After  a brief  service  and  sermon,  he  admin- 
istered the  sacrament  of  the  Lord’s  supper  to  a few  who 
remained  to  receive  it,  kneeling  ; he  gave  them  the  bread, 
with  a few  words  to  each,  and  an  assistant  followed,  putting 
the  cup  to  the  lips  of  the  communicant.  The  formalities 
of  the  ceremony,  the  tones  of  the  priest,  the  tergiversa- 
tions, the  responses  of  the  choir,  &c.,  were  similar  to  the 
forms  in  use  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 

When  this  sacrament  was  concluded,  I was  about  leav- 
ing the  house,  which  was  now  nearly  deserted,  when  I 
noticed  something  going  on  in  the  chancel.  Twenty 
mothers,  each  with  a babe  in  her  arms,  and  a female 
attendant,  entered  and  arranged  themselves  in  a large 
circle  around  the  kneeling  marble  angel  holding  the  bap- 
tismal font.  Twenty  women,  twenty  babes,  twenty  female 
friends,  not  nurses,  but  god-mothers  ; not  a man  appeared. 
It  was  a beautiful  spectacle  ; perhaps  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  invent  a more  lovely  tableaux.  The  mothers,  the 


476 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


infants,  the  friends,  all  clothed  in  white,  all  before  the  altar 
in  a circle,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  this  white  angel 
kneeling,  and  above  the  whole  the  finest  statue  on  earth 
of  Jesus,  with  open  arms,  as  when  he  said,  “ Suffer  little 
little  children  to  come  unto  me.” 

The  priest  read  a form  of  baptism,  and  then,  passing 
around  the  circle,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  the  face 
of  each  child ; he  then  read  again  ; again  he  went  to  each 
child,  and  laid  his  hand  upon  its  head  as  if  in  blessing : 
then  he  read  again.  The  service  was  now  so  protracted 
that  the  mothers  were  allowed  to  sit  down,  and  then,  one 
by  one,  each  came  up  with  the  attendant,  and,  the  cap 
being  removed,  the  babe  was  held  over  the  font,  the  priest 
took  water  and  poured  it  three  times  from  his  hand  upon 
the  head  of  the  child,  pronouncing  its  name  and  that  of  the 
Triune  God. 

This  being  concluded,  and  as  I was  coming  out  of  the 
church,  a carriage  arrived  with  an  elegantly  dressed  lady 
and  her  attendant  with  a babe,  to  be  baptized  after  the 
people  of  the  humbler  class  had  received  the  sacrament. 
Alas  ! I said  to  myself,  is  aristocracy  in  religion  the  same 
everywhere  ? — and  cannot  the  noble  of  this  world  be 
humble  before  God  ? So  I would  not  return  to  the  bap- 
tism of  this  “ better  born  ” infant,  but  went  on  my  way 
praying  that  all  alike  might  be  washed  in  the  blood  of 
Christ,  and  made  children  of  the  kingdom. 

It  will  surprise  you  — it  certainly  did  me  — to  find  that 
the  people  of  these  northern  countries  of  Europe  give  far 
more  time  to  mere  amusements  than  the  Americans  do.  I 
was  struck  with  this  on  coming  to  Sweden,  and  saw  some- 
thing of  it,  but  not  so  much  in  Norway;  and  here  in  Co- 
penhagen they  are  as  much  -given  to  it  as  the  Athenians 
were  to  news. 

Perhaps  the  French  and  Italians  are  more  disposed  to 
make  themselves  merry  in  crowds.  But  on  recalling  the 
habits  of  the  masses  as  they  are  seen  in  public  places  in 


DENMARK. 


477 


Paris  and  Florence,  I think  that  I was  never  in  any  city  in 
the  world  where  so  many  people  in  proportion  to  the  whole 
number  go  from  home  to  be  amused.  On  the  outskirts  of 
the  city  — but  not  so  far  away  as  to  be  difficult  of  access 
— there  are  large  gardens,  so  called,  laid  off  with  walks 
and  shrubbery  and  fountains,  and  in  the  midst  are  all  sorts  of 
spectacular  games  and  plays,  combining  in  one  enclosure 
theatre,  circus,  gymnastics,  music  and  dancing,  concerts, 
orations,  and  whatever  is  usually  found  scattered  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  a city,  and  to  be  visited  only  after  paying  a fee 
for  each  admission.  To  enter  this  garden  — for  one  is  a 
type  of  many  — you  pay  about  ten  cents,  and  that  gives 
you  the  entree  to  nearly  all  the  shows.  The  theatre  may 
charge  another  trifling  fee,  but  the  one  admission  makes  all 
these  amusements  open  to  the  visitor.  Around  every  stage 
are  little  tables  and  chairs,  and  refreshments  are  served, 
if  you  choose  to  call  for  them,  at  an  extra  charge.  To  such 
places  as  this  thousands  upon  thousands  of  respectable  peo- 
ple resort  night  after  night,  usually  coding  before  dark , for 
the  days  are  long  and  nights  short ; men  bring  their 
wives  and  children,  and  take  their  evening  meal  together 
in  little  stalls  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  go  home  in 
good  season.  This  is  their  refreshment  after  a day  of  toil, 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  it  helps  them  to  bear  with  pa- 
tience the  burdens  of  a working  life. 

These  gardens  are  the  institutions  of  Copenhagen,  for 
the  entertainment  of  the  people.  They  are  cheap , so  as  to 
be  within  the  reach  of  all ; and  they  are  cheap , as  one  of 
the  proprietors  told  me,  because  low  prices  bring  more 
money  than  high.  Doubtless  there  are  other  and  more 
intellectual  enjoyments  provided  for  those  who  prefer 
them  ; but  when  you  consider  the  enormous  expense  in- 
curred to  fit  up  and  furnish  every  night  such  entertain- 
ments as  these,  you  see  it  requires  the  attendance  of  many 
thousands,  at  the  insignificant  charge,  to  make  them  pay 
at  all. 


478 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


On  certain  days,  the  Royal  Picture  Galleries  and  Thor- 
valdsen’s Museum  are  thrown  open  to  the  people,  and  the 
throngs  of  working  people,  evidently  in  very  humble  life, 
as  their  dress  and  manner  indicate,  who  pack  the  halls  and 
rooms,  show  that  the  people  have  also  a taste  for  something 
higher  and  better  than  plays.  Something  might  be  said  of 
the  effect  of  so  much  amusement  upon  the  morals  of  the 
masses  ; but  it  is  not  safe  for  a transient  visitor  to  speak 
with  certainty  of  any  thing  but  what  he  actually  sees  as  he 
goes  along.  To  me  it  is  a pleasant,  and  only  a pleasant 
reflection,  that  the  people  in  these  northern  countries,  who 
do  not  accomplish  much  beyond  making  a decent  subsist- 
ence from  year  to  year,  find  both  time  and  money  to  spend 
in  amusements  that  are  not  in  themselves  as  demoralizing 
as  the  sensual  and  intoxicating  pleasures  which  so  many  of 
our  own  poor  pursue  to  their  ruin. 

You  would  have  to  go  far  and  search  long  before  you 
would  find  a more  interesting  museum  than  that  of  North- 
ern Antiquities,  which  occupies  part  of  the  Christians- 
borg  Palace.  This  northern  country  abounds  in  curious 
relics  of  past  ages,  defunct  systems  of  religious  worship, 
modes  of  warfare  now  wholly  unknown  ; and  by  law  all 
these  remains,  wherever  found,  belong  to  the  crown.  In 
every  parish  in  Denmark  the  minister  is  made  the  agent 
of  government,  to  have  every  thing  discovered,  and  that 
promises  to  be  of  any  interest,  sent  to  the  museum,  where 
a fair  price  is  paid  for  it  to  the  finder. 

There  is  scarcely  an  end  to  the  number  and  variety  of 
these  curious  objects,  illustrating  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  long-buried  past.  Weapons  of  war  form  the  most 
conspicuous  feature  of  such  an  exhibition,  and  stone  is  the 
material  from  which  the  most  formidable  are  made ; clubs 
and  axes,  arrow-heads  of  flint,  chisels  and  knives  most  sin- 
gularly and  beautifully  wrought  ; urns  from  ancient  sepul- 
chres, with  bones  of  other  animals  than  human,  are  here ; 
and  tradition  tells  us  that  the  old  Norse  heroes  were  buried 


DENMARK. 


479 


with  their  dogs  and  horses,  to  bear  them  company  in  the 
world  of  spirits.  It  is  hard  to  say  what  part  in  the  funeral 
rites  a sieve  could  perform,  but  it  is  often  found  in  the 
ancient  tombs. 

The  Runic  monuments  are  the  most  remarkable  objects 
in  the  collection  ; and  the  one  that  has  excited  the  closest 
scrutiny  came  from  Greenland,  in  latitude  73,  and  is  said  to 
bear  a date  1135. 

Among  the  fire-arms  of  the  earliest  years  of  their  use, 
we  have  old  cannons  to  be  loaded  at  the  breech,  and  guns 
on  the  revolving  principle,  though  we  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  thinking  that  both  of  these  are  inventions  of  our 
own  times. 

Besides  these  collections,  there  is  the  Royal  Arsenal,  and 
the  Museum  of  Natural  History,  and  the  Royal  Museum, 
and  many  others,  which  are  but  the  repetition  and  exten- 
sion of  these  and  like  objects  of  interest,  — interesting, 
indeed,  to  look  at  for  a few  hours,  tiresome  after  a while , 
and  I will  not  weary  you  with  the  details. 

Setting  off  by  rail  from  Copenhagen  to  Hamburg,  I en- 
countered a gentleman  who  claimed  to  be  a countryman  of 
mine,  because  he  hailed  from  South  America.  He  was 
German  born,  in  England  bred,  and  he  went  to  Uruguay, 
S.  A.,  where  he  had  been  twenty-four  years  in  business. 
He  was  now  travelling  with  his  family  in  the  North  of 
Europe.  He  was  a shipping-merchant,  and  vessels  in 
which  he  was  interested  come  from  Hamburg  and  Havre 
and  England  with  furniture,  tin-ware,  and  a thousand  man- 
ufactured articles,  and  carry  away  hides,  tallow,  and  so  forth. 
It  was  easy  to  see  that  he  had  an  eye  to  business  in  the 
midst  of  his  pleasure  travel,  and  that  he  was  learning  what 
wants  of  the  North  of  Europe  could  be  supplied  from  the 
South  of  America.  My  conversation  with  him  developed 
the  beautiful  relations  of  the  different  parts  of  the  earth  to 
each  other : the  climate,  the  soil,  the  position  of  one  coun- 
try supplementing  another,  and  showing  that  no  country 


480 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN, 


“ liveth  unto  itself  ” any  more  than  a man  lives  to  himself. 
There  is  a thorough  mutual  dependence  running  through 
society  and  the  whole  world. 


Hamuurg. 

Our  rail  ride  was  across  the  island  of  Zealand  — flat,  poor, 
wet,  cold  soil ; the  peasants’  houses  were  low,  of  stone,  and 
thatched.  The  windows  were  so  few  and  small,  they  must 
be  ill  ventilated,  and  probably  unwholesome.  Mustard  was 


DENMARK. 


48I 


growing  in  large  quantities,  fields  of  rye  were  fair,  and 
grass  was  looking  well.  Cattle  abounded  in  the  meadows, 
• — not  on  the  hills,  for  those  were  not  in  sight. 

At  ten  o’clock  at  night,  and  while  it  was  yet  light,  we 
reached  the  steamer  at  Corseow.  It  was  a large,  commo- 
dious, and  well-furnished  vessel,  excepting  that  it  had  no 
state-rooms.  The  berths  were  good,  but  were  all  in  one 
open  cabin.  The  decks  were  crowded  with  live-stock, — 
pigs,  calves,  cows,  — whose  squeals,  bleating,  and  moaning 
were  to  be  our  serenade  till  the  morning  light.  A bounti- 
ful supper  was  served,  — tea  and  coffee,  meats,  eggs,  &c.,  — 
and  the  charge  for  the  whole  was  twenty-seven  cents  ! And 
this  being  over,  I spent  the  livelong  night  fighting,  not 
wild  beasts,  nor  the  tame  ones  overhead,  but  those  pester- 
ing fleas,  which  seem  to  be  one  of  the  pet  annoyances  of 
the  travelling  world. 

We  arrived  at  Kiel  very  early  in  the  morning,  and  went 
ashore  through  mud  and  rain ; and  the  only  way  to  ride 
was  on  the  outside  of  an  omnibus,  to  the  railroad  station. 
This  is  a famous  seaport,  and  like  all  other  seaports,  so  that 
Kiel  will  not  have  a sketch.  We  make  no  stay,  but  by  rail 
set  off  for  Hamburg.  Wheat  and  rye  and  buckwheat  cover 
the  fields.  Little  Indian  corn  is  raised  in  these  countries, 
where  the  soil  and  climate  are  as  well  suited  to  it  as  parts 
of  our  country  where  it  flourishes.  The  gardens  are  filled 
with  the  same  vegetables  as  our  own,  — potatoes,  pease, 
beans,  lettuce,  radishes,  beets,  carrots,  cauliflower,  cabbage, 
— making  it  pleasant  to  know  that  the  good  things  at  home 
are  just  as  abundant  here.  The  flowers,  too,  — roses  and 
lilies  and  lilacs,  others  wild  and  cultivated,  — make  the 
wayside  and  the  court-yards  of  the  humble  dwellings  smile. 
All  the  fields  of  grass  and  grain  are  ridged,  and  a ditch  is 
made  about  every  twenty  feet  for  a drain.  Small  tiles  are 
used  for  underground  draining.  Few  evidences  appear  of 
high  cultivation  ; very  little  attention  is  paid  to  scientific 

31 


482 


ALHAMBRA  AND  KREMLIN. 


preparation  of  manures,  which  might  greatly  enhance  the 
value  of  the  land. 

At  Elmshorn,  — a very  pretty  village  where  we  stopped 
a few  moments,  and  large  numbers  of  people  gathered  about 
the  train,  as  if  they  were  quite  at  leisure,  — old  women 
brought  baskets  of  strawberries  and  cherries  to  the  cars 
for  sale  ; as  large  and  of  as  fine  a flavor,  and  of  such  vari- 
eties as  were  quite  familiar  to  the  eye  and  taste. 

The  train  moves  slowly  on,  and  the  spires  of  Hamburg 
appear  in  the  distance.  We  are  now  fairly  out  of  Scandi- 
navia. With  hearts  full  of  thanksgiving  to  Him  who  has 
safely  led  us  through  our  journey,  we  turn  away  from  the 
land  of  Odin  and  Thor,  and  in  a few  weeks  are 


Cambridge:  Stereotyped  and  Printed  by  John  Wilson  and  Son. 


